All the Way to Heaven: The Selected Letters of Dorothy Day

Regional and Other Titles

by Dorothy Day, Robert Ellsberg (Editor)

“The publication of the letters of Dorothy Day is a significant event in the history of Christian spirituality.” —Jim Martin, SJ, author of My Life with the Saints Dorothy Day, cofounder of the Catholic Worker movement, has been called the most significant, interesting, and influential person in the history of American Catholicism. Now the publication of her letters, previously sealed for 25 years after her death and meticulously selected by Robert Ellsberg, reveals an extraordinary look at her daily struggles, her hopes, and her unwavering faith.This volume, which extends from the early 1920s until the time of her death in 1980, offers a fascinating chronicle of her response to the vast changes in America, the Church, and the wider world. Set against the backdrop of the Depression, World War II, the Cold War, Vatican II, Vietnam, and the protests of the 1960s and ’70s, she corresponded with a wide range of friends, colleagues, family members, and well-known figures such as Thomas Merton, Daniel Berrigan, César Chávez, Allen Ginsberg, Katherine Anne Porter, and Francis Cardinal Spellman, shedding light on the deepest yearnings of her heart. At the same time, the first publication of her early love letters to Forster Batterham highlight her humanity and poignantly dramatize the sacrifices that underlay her vocation. “These letters are life-, work-, and faith-affirming.” —National Catholic Reporter

Genres: Religion, Catholic, Biography, Spirituality, Theology

626 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 20, 2010

About the author

Dorothy Day was an American journalist, social activist and anarchist who, after a bohemian youth, became a Catholic Christian without in any way abandoning her social and anarchist activism. She was perhaps the best-known political radical in the American Catholic Church. In the 1930s, Day worked closely with fellow activist Peter Maurin to establish the Catholic Worker movement, a nonviolent, pacifist movement that continues to combine direct aid for the poor and homeless with nonviolent direct action on their behalf.

A revered figure within the U.S. Catholic community, Day's cause for canonization was recently open by the Catholic Church.

Reviews

[Indie Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been sitting here, trying to think what to say about this book, All the Way to Heaven: The Selected Letters of Dorothy Day. It is so breathtakingly real. She was so involved in the Christian world, she lived it and breathed it. The book/letters were beautiful, and inspiring. However, I cannot say it better than Sister Wendy Beckett who stated "These wonderful letters (wonderful even in a merely human sense) can almost startle us with their revelation--natural, unpretentious, non-preachy--of what it means to be holy. Dorothy Day loved our Lord in the darkness of a real world, one where she met with distrust, betrayal, grinding poverty, and anxiety. These sorrows did not keep her from God. They drew her into His own redemptive suffering. There are no letters like these."

And so know you know why I cannot say anything better, Sister Wendy Beckett happened to say it better than anyone else could. I really, truly enjoyed the book, and I would suggest that anyone of the Christian or Catholic faith read the book, heck, I even suggest people who aren't Christian or Catholic take a look at it. Beautiful. And so, so real.

I won this book on Goodreads First Reads.

[Dick Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I want to say that no one will ever collect your emails and make them into a book. Your children will not save your email either. But your letters might be saved so you should always write letters. But on to the book itself. This was absolutely wonderful and showed her ongoing struggles, her triumphs, and her faith, which never seemed to waiver. The letters provide a terrific insight into her life and the many things she did, but always within the context of her faith. There is also a book of Ms. Day's writings as well as selections from her diaries, and this book makes me want to read those as well. I would highly recommend this book.

[Kathleen Basi · Rating 5 out of 5]

We tend to think of saints (and those in process) as perfect. Reading Dorothy Day's letters shows her passion, her uncompromising values--which are, half the time, not what you expected, regardless of where you "sit" on the spectrum--and her oh-so-human foibles. I set about reading this to see how a social justice warrior who is authentic Catholic enough to be on the road to sainthood dealt with the anger of helplessness against worldly evil while also remaining detached. I got far more than I expected, and I am better for it.

[Mary V · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won ALL THE WAY TO HEAVEN: THE SELECTED LETTERS OF DOROTHY DAY by Dorothy Day as part of a GoodReads give away. It was an interesting enough book, but I guess a series of one-way letters just isn't my thing. I did read the entire book, just to let you know; but it was a slow process because of the letter thing. Many of the people and references in the letters meant nothing to me. Some of the letters' recipients were perhaps people I had maybe heard about but many were complete strangers. I have heard about the Catholic Worker Movement, and it was somewhat interesting to read about how it came to be and its evolution throughout the years. That being said, I came away feeling that Dorothy Day and her companions were very radical and liberal thinking. Kind of over the edge to me. They were activists of the most determined sort. That can be good in some situations but not in all and I was left with the idea that in their beliefs it was the same for all types of situations. I felt like she bordered on Socialism, Communism or anarchism at the very least. Sometimes during reading I was thinking "Oh, wow! How weird , and she thinks of herself as a good American and a good Catholic". One thing I think of, is her annual participation in protests of the city's civil defense drills; which I have been told were in the same vein as fire drills and earthquake drills, intended for people's safety. How can a sensible person object to that even if one is against war. There's one thing to care about the poor and down trodden but according to her letters, I felt like she thought a person should devote all their time to that or none at all; which is not very practical to most people. So I guess that in addition to dealing with letters, I had a difference of philosophy with her, too. She was extremely devoted to her job of providing for the less than fortunate. In many of her letters, Dorothy Day was very encouraging to the recipient, but many other times she came across as highly critical, especially if the person had not taken Day's advice. I am a Catholic and I have great belief in helping others and giving aid to the down and out, BUT I also feel there needs eventually to be some effort on their own behalf. I came away with the feeling that Dorothy Day believed in handouts without expecting people to attempt to contribute. The book was an eye opener to the life of a woman that some Catholics are holding up for sainthood but who I do not see in even close to the same class as Mother Teresa.

[Happyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a non-Catholic, I have to admire Day’s commitment to pacifism and serving the poor. The contrast in content and style of her letters before and after she committed herself to Catholicism and the Catholic Worker is stunning and is testimony to the power of finding your true path. Her letters are also testimony to the personal cost of living your convictions. Opposition, personally, politically, and spiritually, is ever present throughout the letters but as she continually reiterates, her faith and perseverance gives her the strength to carry on. She is continually exhorting others, including those in the Church, to examine whether they are serving God or man.

Her politics were both progressive and regressive. Her wildly unpopular commitment to nonviolent resistance and pacifism through WWII inspired Vietnam War resistors. Her support of offering integrated hospitality in the CW houses of hospitality as early as the 1930s forced the closure of some CW homes by racist neighbors. Her letters to the IRS, explaining why she does not files taxes complete with Catholic pamphlets, and NYC tax assessors, returning a sinful interest payment, must have entertained and puzzled those bureaucrats. Her empathy for workers included picketing and being jailed along with Cesar Chavez’s striking grape pickers. Dorothy Day was more anti-capitalist and anti-government than many communists and libertarians. At the same time, despite her status and her daughter’s eventual status as single mothers, despite her fighting for women’s right to vote prior to her conversion, despite her aversion to racism, despite being a leader in her own right, she was not a feminist. As late as 1968, she states, “I am no feminist. I believe men have the vision and women must follow it.” Disappointing to witness a woman who definitely fought the Man and frequently the male Catholic hierarchy making the connection between capitalism and poverty but not between sexism and poverty.

Still, Day's commitment to service and her walking the talk inspires a desire to learn more about her and her politics and spiritual outlook. The letters offer a glimpse but leave gaps as there are sure to be gaps in most correspondence.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the Way to Heaven is an anthology of letters written by Dorothy Day from 1923 to 1980. I did some research to find out the year in which she was born (which was 1897 if you were wondering). This means that these letters began when she was approximately 26 and continued til February of 1980, when she was 82 years old. This is impressive in and of itself. Like most twenty-somethings, her early letters deal with love and relationships. This first series was written ten years before she established the Catholic Worker movement. By reading these letters, we are able to see her life before God got a hold of her.

We then see a dramatic shift in the next series of letters. By this time, she had become the leader of a lay movement and was addressing issues of labor and social justice. her focus had shifted towards helping others and away from herself. The rest of the letters continue to show her spiritual growth and maturity, as well as the advancement of her newspaper and the cause for which she fought her whole life - social justice. Besides writing to ordinary lay people interested in her cause, Dorothy Day also wrote to some of the most important people in her day, including bishops and Thomas Merton.

I did not read all the letters, as they span nearly 600 pages. However, during the ones I did read, I found myself wishing to read the responses she received to these letters. I feel it would have fleshed out the dialogue more and made for more interesting reading. I did like that there was an index at the end, as it was helpful if you were looking for a letter to a specific individual. While this book isn't technically a biography, it feels biographical in a way as you read through it. Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

[Julie James · Rating 4 out of 5]

one quote (from p 304): "...we are getting the help we need little by little. It is true that it is begging, but the contempt that goes with it, the standing before the judge over and over again, the misrepresentations in the papers, the being accused of being a slum landlord and exploiting the poor, etc, not to speak of my past life being dragged in again and again, all goes with it so it must be pleasing to our Lord." It's just one quote from a 573 page book of letters, but what I loved about the book is simply the way that Dorothy expressed herself. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that it's a book of letters, and that's just not an easy read in any sense. Robert Ellsberg did an admirable job of giving the narrative behind the letters, though, and he did it without getting in the way of what Dorothy kept saying again and again -- in so many insightful ways -- about how to be a Christian witness and how to love better.

[Wes Mccomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since i first heard of Dorothy Day I have thought of her as a modern day Saint. I felt energized reading her letters . My adirmation for her life long love affair to "Lady Poverty" and her self-less commitment to " the least of these" reminds a selfish world of whst is right and.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book presented a vivid picture of the struggles and joys experienced by Dorothy Day. Her life really came alive through her written words. Engaging read.

[Larisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating look into the life of a dedicated woman in touch with other passionate social change advocates.

[Ritagail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book for every young adult to elderly American Catholic to read. It not only take us through Dorothy Day's life, but it gives a history of the American Catholic Church during her lifetime, because she frequently writes about, and comments on, what is happening as she writes her letters. Because she was a convert to Catholicism, this might be especially helpful for converts to read, especially if you've been a convert for awhile and are struggling to stay. It DOES begin with her life before her conversion, so be prepared for that, and it can be very tedious and sad, especially at the beginning. This book was given to me and I put it aside for several years. When I finally read it, I read a few letters each day after my morning Bible reading. I think it took nearly a year to finish that way, but it was well worth it.

[Betsy Zimmermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sprawling collection of letters written by Dorothy Day from her early days as a bohemian writer, new mother, Catholic convert, and throughout her career as a leading voice of the Catholic Worker.
Her early letters to her boyfriend and father of her child are quite moony and hopeful of marriage, idealizing the Communist party and radical ideals. As a convert she is just as radical. She refers to the folly of the cross, prescribes the rosary and stations as a cure-all for low mood and is devout in every way.
Her letters reveal not just the causes she was lauded for, such as deep concern for the poor and the voiceless, but also her more difficult stances such as pacifism during WWII.
An inspiring and prolific woman.