I have always loved the story of St. Gerasimos and his lion, so I was excited to hear about this book. It puts a different spin on the story by telling it from the perspective of the lion and his baboon friend that he meets along the way. The difference in perspective is reflected beautifully in the writing style - there is a raw edge to the storytelling that makes the lion's voice distinctive. This distinctiveness, this particularity, is a theme throughout the book that highlights indirectly how each one of us is also a particular person, beloved of Christ. 
I truly appreciated how a fresh perspective on a familiar story brought it alive in a new way.

Reminiscent of Lewis’ magnetic world-building with the gorgeous prose of Tolkien or Chevalier, Laura E. Wolfe’s The Lion and the Saint reads like a memoir and fantasy novella rolled into one. A beautiful retelling of the story of St. Gerasim and the Lion, Ms. Wolfe weaves her account through the eyes of both the lion himself as well as the baboon who becomes his companion. Her novella stretches from serving as a wonderful read-aloud for children to an emotionally resonant snapshot of God’s sovereignty and human beings’ deep ache for a world worthy of “more”, leaving teens and adults alike feeling seen, their own journeys reflected and affirmed, in ink and paper.

I could not love this book more! I would recommend it heartily at any time, during any season, but, as our human collective is experiencing truly unique challenges in this current world climate, The Lion and the Saint is a story for right now possibly more than anything I have read in the past six months. Ancient stories remind us that we have never been alone. As in Ms. Wolfe’s The Lion and the Saint, the truth is that we never will be. Dancing with truth and beauty, this novella hits readers straight in the heart with breathtaking imagery, witty dialogue, and memorable characters who stand the test of pages. I stan Gregory. ;)

A must-read, a must-gift, simply a must!

A life of a saint from the point of view of the animal he *almost* humanizes: what an original idea! And it works. The story is intimate in execution, but it reads like an epic story. This is very much a step above most animal fables, and thankfully doesn't indulge in any moralizing at all. The characters are compelling, their journeys beautiful, and the end will leave you weeping. Highly recommended.

Fans of Laura Wolfe’s picture book “Sasha and the Dragon” will be delighted to know that she has now penned a novel for older children, “The Lion and the Saint”. This coming-of-age (or, more accurately, coming-of-self) story gives its readers glimpses into the regional and monastic life in St. Gerasim’s era. The story is told by a lion and a baboon, who offer unique (and ever-changing) perspectives on the world around them, and, eventually, on themselves and their own reason for existing.

The book recounts the story of St. Gerasimos (Gerasim) and the monks’ experience with the lion they named Jordan (Jordanes, here). Far from your average saint story retelling, however, this book offers insights into animal life (how lions and baboons would perhaps think about the world around them) that naturally segue into insights into the spiritual life. The wording in the book may take a moment to adjust to, but how often does one read animals’ thoughts, anyway? (Even the animals struggle initially to understand each other. The lion calls the baboon “she who vexes me with words I do not always understand.”)

Readers who pursue the story and suspend their disbelief of understanding the words of animals will find it vastly worth their time and attention. Each reader will likely step away from the book with a newfound appreciation for the world God has created, a desire to become the particular individual they were created to be, as well as a longing to “smell like a saint” instead of just being a “common” human.

I became very excited to see Renewing You A Priest, a psychologist and a Plan being released by Ancient Faith publishing. I love books to help me improve my life and this book is one of the best I have read.

Rev Dr Nicholas Louh and his wife Dr Roxanne Louh do what many writing teams cannot, they mesh and are able to seamlessly change from one point of view to another, it's not awkward and it shows so clearly why these are the people writing this book. This book is really for everyone, married couples or single, male or female. The chapters on marriage and children taught me many things about relationships and how to relate to others even though I am single, and plan on remaining that way.

In addition to the information provided in the chapters there is scripture used to show how it relates back to our lives and at the end of the chapters there is a group of open ended questions so you have the option not only to absorb the information that the Louhs provide but you have the option to write out the answers to the questions and then really think about how the answers affect your life and what you need to change. I am sorry I didn't start with a journal beside the book while I read it, but when i go back and read it again, that will be one change I personally make.

I highly recommend this book and am excited for all of their future collaborations/

I am grateful that in a time of widespread hatred, when the art of discussion is no longer embraced, when we look at people as expendable and not dynamic, when division is around every corner, that a book like this exists.

Dr. Rossi composes a series of discussions on topics that can veer Christians away from the peaceful truth we have in Christ; All Is Well. No matter the circumstances, the feelings, the state of ourselves... all is well. I appreciate Dr. Rossi’s humility, care, and love for the human condition and how he shares each topic with a heart full of compassion and empathy. I highly recommend this book, especially in audible form if you, like me, have limited free time to sit and devour a good book. I cherished being able to listen to his words as I engaged in a hobby (an activity encouraged in the book), and felt as though I was sitting on a couch as he spoke words of life over me. I am grateful for the opportunity to review this book and encourage you to read it in any form you can.

A year ago I was at a women’s retreat and I was able to attend a lecture with Dr. Roxanne Louh. I was so captivated by her every word that by the end I was so moved that I sat there until everyone left so I could have a moment to tell her how touched I was. Much to my embarrassment, I went to say something but instead I just sobbed and no words quite came out. Eventually I was able to tell her how her talk impacted me, and she was so gracious to chat more with me, but that impression has never left me. I began listened to her and her husband’s podcast from time to time on AFR (Healthy Minds Healthy Souls) and I guess you can say I became a fan girl 🥳 So when I heard they were launching a new book, I was SO EXCITED! I’ve been slowly reading my way through this book and I must say, I’m very much enjoying it. It’s a really easy read, and would even be a wonderful book to read in a small group, since there are discussion questions and prayers after each chapter. I’m already thinking of starting a group of women to read through this with in my church.

Chapter 4 really hit home and encouraged me. It’s titled Turning our trials into triumphs! They speak about worry as being either productive worry or unproductive worry. One productive worry motivated us towards actions whereas unproductive worry has no foreseeable solution. Sometimes we’ve done everything we can in a situation and yet we still keep replaying the same outcomes in our head.

They explain “As we consider our relationship with worry, we must keep in mind that our attitude during a trial plays a major role in how we experience them. And although a situation itself may not be in our control, we can choose how we respond to it. If we cannot change the situation, then we must change our attitude towards it because our interpretations, our reasoning, our story, can either help us thrive or just barely survive.”

There’s much more to say about this wonderful book, but I’ll leave it there for you to discover. If you’re in a dry spell or down in spirit and need a plan to help you out of it, I’d highly recommend this book for you ❤️ 10/10 would recommend!

Beyond beautiful...it changes the focus of my day every time I look at the calendar, and the Icon!

I am an American convert to Orthodoxy, this booklet- along with many other wonderful aspects of Orthodoxy- has given me hope and direction that was missing in my life. We come into our conversion as we are-but then we have strength and freedom to grow and change from the Life of Christ and lives of Saints who have gone before us. Thank you for offering this booklet-it is a daily companion for me along with my Bible and Prayer Book-Lord Jesus Christ , Son of God, have mercy on me , a sinner.

Beautiful icons! Will make great Christmas presents.

I received a review copy of Gratitude in Life's Trenches: How To Experience the Good Life Even When Everything Is Going Wrong.

As I read through the book, I found some parts that really spoke to me, and other parts that I wished had more depth. The book covered topics that I have been interested in for the past several years, and that influenced my reactions to the ideas that author Robin Phillips presents. I think that if I were new to more of the information, I would have found it more engaging. I believe that readers who are looking for an introduction to topics like cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness will find this book more profitable than will someone who is already familiar with these concepts.

However, I did enjoy reading about ideas that appear in present-day therapy from an Orthodox perspective. When I've learned about these ideas from secular sources, I always test whether they fit with my understanding of Orthodoxy, and it was really nice to read the work of an author who is making those connections directly. For example, when Phillips wrote about our perceived meanings of traumatic experiences versus the "actual meaning I can have access to" (pg. 148), I appreciated that he used Bible verses to demonstrate God's truth that genuinely conquers what our feelings might tell us.

Some of the parts in the book that engaged me the most were when Phillips shared his own struggles with depression and anxiety after some major upheaval occurred in his life. I always appreciate hearing people's real-life experiences of healing and learning to process their traumatic experiences. However, I was disappointed that he seemed to leave off in the middle of talking about his own experiences, and he never came back to how he moved through the difficult time that he was in.

Just as I was intrigued by Phillips's real experience, by the same token, I found other examples that he used less satisfying. I found that he included a lot of stories in which it was unclear whether the characters were actual people whose names he had changed, or whether they were fictional examples that he came up with. I found this distracting because stories about how people improve their lives are more meaningful and convincing to me if I know that they really happened. These examples often felt generic to me, and that made it difficult for me to connect with them.

Overall, Gratitude in Life's Trenches is a book that I hoped I would enjoy more. I think some readers will really appreciate it and find that it gives them tools for healthier ways of approaching their struggles in life. It seems to me that it works best as an introduction or overview for those who want to begin learning about topics like thinking errors, re-framing, mindfulness, and intentional gratitude. Personally, I was looking for more in-depth discussion, and it was too often the case that the book skimmed the surface but didn't delve deeper into the topics that interested me.

Revealing the congruence between some of the current and widely used psychological concepts and those of the Desert Fathers, Fr. Joshua’s book has encouraged me to see it a spiritual opportunity to engage in the healing process. He shares that we find God’s grace throughout such process – from the neuroplasticity of our brain’s design to His accessibility through prayer, readers are motivated by the great hope of this sanctifying work. The practical strategies that are outlined in the text make what can seem an overwhelming task one that is attainable. Fr. Joshua joins with us as a fellow pilgrim in his restorative framework. I highly recommend the read to anyone seeking to know more about the healing journey for personal or peer navigation.

Very informative book, especially to those new to the orthodox faith.

Great, beautiful resource!

As lovely as I remembered it!

This wonderful little book will be especially useful to Christians who may, in all sincerity, view Counseling as incompatible with (or even as a subversion of) Scriptural faith and true spirituality—something at worst dangerous and at best irrelevant for the faithful. It shows how our difficulty in cultivating a life of Christian discipleship and growth in the Spirit may stem from a variety of ways in which our soul is, indeed, “wounded,” as the title has it, numbed, distorted, or scarred. The first four chapters describe the ways in which these wounds may have been inflicted, the reactions and coping mechanism that they engendered, and how all of this impoverishes and distorts not only our daily interactions with our fellow human being, but also our faith and spiritual growth.

To many it will probably become one of the important moments of journey towards acknowledging the need for a psychological and spiritual turning-point in one’s life. Whatever wisdom and practical knowledge is brought to the table by the counseling discipline, it are here clearly subservient to a deeper and more important concern, namely that of clearing one’s path to acquiring the mind of a disciple, the mind the Church, and allowing Christ to do His work in us. The second half of the book offers an appealing sketch of what this may look like—the healing of our soul’s wounds, the enlargement of our heart towards God and neighbor, our gradually becoming alive with the life of the risen Christ in us.

A number of important concepts are introduced (transference, projection, parentified child, displacement, splitting, disenfranchised losses, etc), but terms are always clearly explained, and explanations are supplemented by examples that give a clear and vivid picture of what is meant. Although written in clear prose, the book is far from dry and schematic; it is accessible, but does not deliver platitudes; it is sober, but obviously written with great compassion and care. Above all, this book is unpolluted by arrogance, or by a desire to prove a point, or to persuade the reader at all cost, or to debunk, defeat, and deride other opinions.

In short: a wonderful book, well worth buying, reading, learning from, and keeping. Fair warning: once you start reading, it is difficult to put it down!

Hit the mark for its purpose; accessible and well-communicated in love.

I really enjoyed this book! I would like to see this book in all church bookstores. It has given me the basic tools of our Orthodox faith and I encourage people looking into the faith as well as cradle Orthodox who may need a refresher. This book is also good to use to teach our children since it has a practical hands on approach.

This is a great intro to the orthodox church and the Christian faith for children! I plan to use it for a church school program, but could easily be used at home or in a homeschool setting.

This is clearly a work intended for monastics. Gerondissa's voice is gentle, but her admonitions are unrelenting concerning the necessity of unquestioning and undoubting obedience to monastic superiors and spiritual fathers, demonstrating her sacrficial concern for the salvation of her flock. Her heart of great love and spiritual peace and joy comes alive irresistably in these pages and shows us how we too may acquire the humility of heart that invites the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.