Penelope Ayers

by Amy Julia Becker

Penelope Ayers is a memoir about a beautiful, gracious, lonely New Orleanian who discovers one February morning that she has cancer. Penny's life to this point has included an alcoholic husband, divorce, depression, and raising two boys on her own. And yet this crisis prompts her to reach out for help. Three generations of her fractured, colorful family respond, and in so doing, they all experience grace and healing.Set in pre-Katrina New Orleans, Penelope Ayers unfolds against the backdrop of one of the world's most vibrant cities. This story offers comfort and inspiration to anyone facing a life-threatening illness, and it will also appeal to individuals wrestling with questions for God, and about God, in the midst of difficult situations. Ultimately, it is a family story about the strong and tenuous nature of hope.

Genres: Memoir

254 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 25, 2008

About the author

Amy Julia Becker is the author of To Be Made Well: An Invitation to Wholeness, Healing, and Hope, which releases in March 2022. She is also the author of White Picket Fences: Turning toward Love in a World Divided by Privilege (2018), Small Talk: Learning From My Children About What Matters Most (2014), and A Good and Perfect Gift: Faith, Expectations and a Little Girl Named Penny (2011). A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, her essays about personal, social, and spiritual healing have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Christianity Today, and more. She is a big fan of frozen yogurt, her Ember mug, and hiking in the nearby woods with her family. Amy Julia lives with her husband and three children in western Connecticut.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first read this book, lasts year I really enjoyed it, I even cried. However it was not until recently when I had a family member facing cancer that I really loved it. I was naive before, here I was reading about this family, this woman,this hero, facing cancer when in reality I had no idea what cancer was like. Now that I can see this book with fresh eyes, I want to scream about it from the roof tops. I highly recommend this book to all, especially those with a loved one, or themselves, facing cancer.

[Jeff]

Mary and I really enjoyed this book, written by our friend Amy Julia Becker...

John Timpane of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote this about the book:

"Amy Julia Becker's Penelope Ayers is one part memoir, one part character study, and one part spiritual autobiography. Everyone in this keenly observed, emotionally charged story comes to a deeper love for one another and a deeper appreciation of the role of the divine in human life. "