I would be a chronicler of lost stories.”

“I swore an oath to set down their accomplishments and praise their flourishings, no matter how small. “To be ignored, to be forgotten, this was the worst sadness of all,” Ana says. Namely, the stories of the matriarchs in the Scriptures who have been cast to the shadows. Ana, who faces her own tragedies, rises to that challenge again and again.Īfter her aunt’s arrival, Ana starts to think of her own parchments and scrolls she tucks away in her cedar chest less as her “audacities” and more as the contributions she wishes to leave for posterity. By reassembling her life - however broken - according to her own design. The advice she gives to Ana is that all will be well. It is a triumph of storytelling both timely and timeless, from a masterful writer at the height of her powers.Yaltha is indeed a fascinating character, who sees and experiences tragedy but refuses to be victimized. Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman's bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her. Ana determines her fate during a stunning convergence of events considered among the most impactful in human history. When Ana commits a brazen act that puts her in peril, she flees to Alexandria, where startling revelations and greater dangers unfold, and she finds refuge in unexpected surroundings. She is sustained by her fearless aunt Yaltha, who harbors a compelling secret. Ana's pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to Rome's occupation of Israel, partially led by her brother, Judas.

Their marriage evolves with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, and their mother, Mary. An encounter with eighteen-year-old Jesus changes everything. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women.

Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana.

The book of longing by sue monk kidd