Fr Evan does an amazing job giving clear instructions and at the same time thought provoking insight. As a cradle Orthodox, I learned the “whys” behind so many of our traditions! Thank you. Looking forward to the book club talk show in November. Perfect gift for wedding showers and our friends inquiring about Orthodoxy.

I have listened to this audiobook from beginning to end three times and I am still coming back for more! The chapters are short enough (usually under 10 minutes long) to listen to on my commute or before prayer. Each chapter has a memorable key word or phrase for its focus, and it is full of practical help for getting started with prayer. It has a pastoral tone that is realistic about the difficulty of prayer and meets beginners with understanding and encouragement.
If you are like me, you've dealt with some of those discouraging thoughts about prayer: 'I don't know what to say', 'I am too busy to pray', 'I can't stay focused', 'I just don't feel anything when I pray'. The author addresses these and more with wisdom from the Scriptures and the experience of saints and monks. Along with the purchase of a prayer book, When You Pray has had the greatest impact on my prayer habits. There are a lot of good books that teach about prayer, but if you want a book that teaches how to pray, you need this book. You will discover that a life of prayer is possible.

The Lion and the Saint by Laura E. Wolfe was an absolute pleasure to read. The storytelling is rich and creative. I empathized with the creatures, and saw myself in both Jordanes, the lion, and Astennu, the baboon. I highly recommend this book as do my daughters, 10 and 11. The following is my particular 11 year old daughter's review: "I loved the Lion and the Saint. It tells a story of faithfulness, and the love Jesus can bring to people's(and in this case, animals) hearts. There is just enough humor to juxtapose the seriousness of the characters. The bond between a lion and a saint, the courage Jordanes shows to make everything right, and the story behind it all makes this book a heartwarming tale." This is a story we will read over and over again.

I have listened to this audiobook from beginning to end three times and I am still coming back for more! The chapters are short enough (usually under 10 minutes long) to listen to during my commute or before prayer. Each chapter has a memorable key word or phrase for its focus, and it is full of practical help for getting started with prayer. It has a pastoral tone that is realistic about the difficulty of prayer and meets beginners with understanding and encouragement.
If you are like me, you've dealt with some of those discouraging thoughts about prayer: “I don’t know what to say”, “I'm too busy to pray”, “I can’t stay focused”, “I just don’t feel anything when I pray”. The author addresses these and more with wisdom from the Scriptures and the experience of saints and monks. Along with the purchase of a prayer book, When You Pray has had the greatest impact on my prayer habits. There are a lot of books that teach about prayer, but if you want a book that teaches you how to pray, you need this book. You will discover that a life of prayer is possible.

Wonderful as a devotional… Great short story format so that you can pick it up and quickly be nourished spiritually

Beautiful

Five Star

The author shares a very insightful perspective

It’s beautiful !

We purchase these cards to send to shut-ins for Christmas

Toolkit for Spiritual Growth was both informative and easily interpreted by our Catechumens and Inquirers. It was well written and hit the spot for introducing our Faith and a few common practices. Highly recommend it. Subdeacon Paisius, All Saints Orthodox Mission (OCA), Victoria, Tx.

I am very torn by my thoughts on this book. I think it would be easiest to divide my thoughts into a set of Pro’s and Con’s:

Pro’s
This book covers many different areas of personal life: Prayer, Thoughts, Vices, Trials, Self Care, Marriage, Kids and Sharing your light.
Dr. Roxanne does a wonderful job explaining the psychology of our minds and actions. I appreciate the amount of science she uses to explain how our minds work.
This is a great workbook format. There are a lot of thought provoking questions. This book takes a good time commitment to be used correctly and beneficially.
I enjoyed reading and connecting with the anecdotal stories. They helped tie in the message. It is very clear that Father Nick and Dr. Roxanne have many experiences to share. I could tell that they had a personal understanding of many different situations. This made the book very relatable.
I really like how the chapter on Self Care covered more in depth ways to take care of yourself and quick fixes like getting your nails done or a bowl of ice cream.
There is so much supportive Scripture!
Several quotes were inspiring to me:
“Peace is not the absence of a storm, it’s the presence of God.” page 48
‘We can’t rely on ‘feeling like it’ in order to do the things our bodies require.” page 173
“Just keep remembering that choices lead, feelings follow.” page 175

Con’s
I was absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of Bible translations used. I counted 6 different translations in the first chapter. This makes me leery and makes me feel like the Scripture is being twisted to make a point.
I am unsure of the intended audience of this book. It is written in such a way that maybe Protestants would be more likely to read.
In the chapter of Prayer there is no mention of using the Jesus Prayer or having an Orthodox Prayer rule. While the First Fifteen plan is probably a very good idea, I was very disappointed by the lack of Orthodox influence. We have daily scripture readings and daily Saints lives that would be wonderful to include first thing in the morning, as well as the Trisagion prayers. Also mentioning the importance of developing spiritual guidelines with your Spiritual Father would have been a good suggestion.
The chapter of Vices covered a lot of interpersonal issues, but lacked focus on personal vices. Many of my battles deal with my own issues. There was also a lack of discussion on the importance of Confession. I feel like making the full cycle of repentance is lacking if there is no form of confession. Planning for confession would have been a helpful addition to this chapter.
I don’t see the full flow of all of the chapter headings. While Marriage and Children are great topics, not everyone reading the book will be married or have children (or even children of the ages discussed). I feel like there are other life situations that should have been included. While I appreciate the need to Shine Your Light, I did not feel like that chapter cohesively fit with the rest of the book. It was more of a good remember for the reader, not a description of Renewal.
I personally would have preferred prayers from the Saints at the end of each chapter rather than the ones written by the authors.


I do feel like I benefited from reading this book and would like to go back to some of the chapters and take some more time thinking through my personal life. The book did not have a strong Orthodox feel to me, so I am not likely to highly recommend this book to my Orthodox friends.
I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Beautiful as always.

Muscular prose, reminiscent of a time when the everyday reader was obliged to sit back and appreciate the pure spectacle of a literary technician at work. The Lion and the Saint isn't afraid of words. Wolfe demands we relish in the pleasure of a straight-forward tale deconstructed and embellished with playful story-craft. She writes for the thinking reader, who is willing to explore ideas alongside the author—agree or disagree—through changing personalities and uncurling narrative. Somehow, in spite of all this, it remains accessible to readers across ages. This is what writing (and reading) should strive for. I hope she publishes more.

Beautiful.

Beautiful!!🙏🏻🙏🏻

Very interesting read! The Lion and the Saint gives you such a different perspective of the beloved Saint. Being able to see the saint through the lion's eyes while still being true to a lion's nature was very compelling. Laura did such a good job retelling the story through this alternate perspective, that you wont want to stop reading.

Father Evan’s wisdom and kindness shine through in this book as they do through his podcast. This little book is packed full of insights, and will be enjoyed by “old” and “new” Orthodox Christians alike. I particularly appreciated the new perspective he gave me on the topic of alms-giving, a deeper understanding of what it means to be charitable.

The tale of St. Gerasim of the Jordan and Lion is one that many children have heard of growing up. In summary, there was a lion who had a thorn in its paw that it couldn't get out. St. Gerasim saved the lion by removing the thorn and the lion served him and the monastery thereafter. Within this recent book by Laura E. Wolfe, we hear the story of this lion from the point of view of the lion. For the first couple of chapters, we see how proud the lion is about who he, but in Chapter Three is where he meets St. Gerasim, gets the splinter removed from his paw, and realizes that even though he is "lord of the savanna," he is "not king of this man."

Accompanying the lion is a baboon, a lone baboon who is looking for a troop to join. The baboon follows the lion as its master, and agrees to follow the lion to the monastery if it is the lion's will. Accompanying the monk,they cross a river where they are both named and "baptized" by Gerasim. A bond that was already formed grows stronger between the three when everyone has a name. These are no longer a man, a lion, and a baboon but Gerasim, Jordanes, and Astennu. There is power in naming something, a power of familiarity and kinship. There is more to this story and other creatures to meet, but I leave that to you to discover.

I believe I own every single book this wonderful author has written. Each one is better than the last and shows an author who is perfecting her craft with each new work. With this book in particular the reader will be drawn into a deep simplicity of the Faith. It will be taught to them in a way that is accessibly, mesmerizing. You will honestly forget you are reading a "religious book," and just view it as a beautiful novella full of captivating characters that are both familiar and new at the same time. I highly recommend this book and look forward to the author's next work!

Art can be true, even if not literally so. "The Lion and the Saint" is a bit of historical fiction, yet it is also delightful, powerful, and (most of all) true. In this moving story about a particular lion and a particular baboon, I learned a little more about what it is to be a particular man. This beautiful novella will sit with me for a long while.