I always enjoy taking time to reflect back on the previous year and think about the books that I read and the writing projects that I worked on. Not only do I love looking back at what I read during the various events of the year, but when I look back at my writing life, I often see that I accomplished quite a bit throughout the year.
(When life is overwhelming and I'm tempted to think that "I'll never get this project done or have time to write again," I remind myself that when I do my annual writing review, I'll be able to see that somehow, the writing happens.)
Without further ado, let's dive in!
Reading
In 2025, I read 88 books that ranged from graphic novels about the desert fathers to academic works to sci fi or dystopian novels. A large portion of the books I read were high-quality indie books, which was very cool-the indie book scene has drastically improved over the years! Before I launch into my thoughts on writing, here's a quick rundown that highlights one book I read each month. As usual, I stubbornly refuse to pick the "best" or "favorite" book of each month, because the books I read are often so different and hard to compare. So, here's a notable book I read and enjoyed each month:
January-7 books.
To Crown with Liberty, by Karen Ullo
This novel follows Alix, a young noblewoman who escapes the French revolution and tries to find a new life in Spanish-owned Louisiana. I love how deftly the author wove together French history, riveting characters and conflicts, and a story that kept me guessing.
February- 4 books.
Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir
A science teacher wakes up on a spaceship with no memory of why he's there or what his mission is. This book got a little dense at times, but I really enjoyed it!
March-7 books
Hunger for Righteousness, by Phoebe Farag Mikhail
This fantastic book draws together Scripture, insights from the fathers of the Church, stories of the saints, and the author's own personal stories. The author is a Coptic Orthodox Christian, and she has a marvelous way of being welcoming and ecumenical in her writing, while still holding true to the Faith and her heritage. This book launched me into lots of thought, prayer, and soapboxes about Lent, and seeing her perspective really helped me appreciate this season more.
April-4 books
Mother to Mother: Spiritual and Practical Wisdom from the Cloister to the Home, by Mary Elizabeth Cuff, PhD
This book includes reflections from Cuff about the struggles and joys of being a mom as well as reflections by contemplative nuns. It was really good.
May-14 books
The prisoner in his palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid, by Will Bardenwerper
The author shares snippets of Saddam Hussein's upbringing and adulthood and horrific crimes, as well as the stories of the 12 Americans who were tasked with guarding him 24/ for the final months of his life. I could not put this book down.
June-9 books
The Wild Robot, by Peter Brown
Crates containing robots wash upon the shore of an island and only one robot survived: Roz. Roz learns how to survive and connect with the animals on the island and becomes a bit wild herself. The story was delightful and the prose was perfect for reading out loud. FYI the book is WAY better than the movie.
July-13 books
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1-8, by Beth Brower
The orphaned Emma Lion returns to her home in a delightfully quirky neighborhood in London, where she faces her cantankerous uncle and tries to bring order to her home until she turns 21 and gains full control of the property. These books made me laugh so hard I cried while also ripping at my heart with discussions on grief and trauma. They were so much fun, easy to read, and just excellent. Make sure you have Volume 7 on hand when you are reading Volume 6, so that you can dive in.
August-6 books
Perpetual Rainbows, by Jessika Caruso
Elara, a young woman living in New Jersey, is thrust into a series of wild events during the time that George Washington's army was stationed in Morristown. Elara grapples with her view on the war and her relationships with people on different sides of the conflict. She also tries to conceal her Catholic faith from her fellow townspeople. I was fascinated to see her moral conflicts as she ventured into midwifery and then began work as a spy. This was a really great historical fiction novel.
September-8 books
A Song for Nagasaki, by Paul Clynn, S.M.
This tells the story of Takashi Nagai, a doctor of radiology who lived and worked in Japan and wound up surviving the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, and then spent the following years studying the effects of the a-bomb. This book also covers Dr. Nagai's journey from Shintoism to atheism to Catholicism. It also provides really helpful insights about the history of Christianity in Japan. This book was brilliant!
October-10 books
The Monks of Mount Athos: A Western Monk's Extraordinary Spiritual Journey on Eastern Holy Ground, by M. Basil Pennington, OCSO
This book is a journal of a Roman Catholic priest who, in the 1970s, spent a few months making a retreat on Mount Athos, the stronghold of Orthodox monasticism--an unprecedented type of trip! I enjoyed learning about Mount Athos and how it operates, and also about the variety of monks who live there. I thought it was beautiful to see Fr. Pennington's humility and how he recognized that there is sin and brokenness in all parts of the Church and within each of us, but how we can still strive for unity.
November-3 books
The Odyssey, by Homer; trans. Emily Wilson
Ordinarily, I would shy away from a "contemporary translation," but honestly, Wilson's contemporary translation of Odysseus's journey home was fantastic! Written in iambic pentameter, this translation is rollicking, adventurous, and accessible, and really helped me dive into the story as I read it in between helping young kids. I read The Iliad 4 or 5 years ago, so I'm glad that I finally read The Odyssey!
December-3 books
Crabgrass Catholicism: How Suburbanization Transformed Faith and Politics in Postwar America, by Stephen M Koeth CSC
A priest offers a deep-dive analysis of how the post-World War II suburbanization impacted Catholicism in America, as well as reflecting on what Catholicism in America was like prior to that development. This book was pretty heavy on data and slow at times, but it was really fascinating and well worth reading. I was fascinated to see that some conversations people had in the 50s and 60s are conversations that some American Catholics are STILL having!
Writing
Here's what I wrote about my writing life a year ago:
For 2025, I'm hoping to continue this "slow consistency" as I work on my writing projects. I'm hoping to continue blogging, writing for CatholicMom.com, and sending out my newsletter, but to really focus my writing efforts on Book #2. I'd love to get this rewrite completely done-and maybe even edited? I'll have to wait and see what God wants. Some pretty insane things impacted our family in 2024, some very hard/awful, others that were incredibly amazing (like the birth of Baby #5!). I have no clue what God has in store for the coming year, but it should be an exciting time.
"It should be an exciting time."
Well.
I don't know about "exciting," but 2025 was...a lot to handle. It was the Year of Hope, and I was definitely holding onto God with hope because there were so many events in the country and in our community that were mentally and emotionally exhausting and difficult to deal with. If I recall correctly, I took my kids to four funerals + 1 vigil (since we couldn't get to the funeral) in the span of a few months. I was pretty tired physically, too, as I took care of all my kids. We had a lot of fun, but I was exhausted!
Keeping all that in mind, I definitely held myself to the "slow consistency" I had planned for the year. And honestly, some months I wasn't even "consistent," and I was just slow. There was a lot of surrender, over and over, as I had to put my own plans aside to take care of a baby or because I was just so mentally and emotionally and physically drained.
In a lot of my prayer the past month or so, I keep coming back to God's invitation to deeper poverty; poverty as detachment from my plans, projects, and hopes. Yes, I still have plans, projects, and hopes, but God has definitely been asking me to not be so attached to them, so that He can do His work.
And you know what? Somehow, even with my lack of consistency in writing and the different factors at play, God provided a way for me to write here and there.
I continued to write on this blog, even though I mostly stuck with monthly reading posts and didn't get much else up. I continued to enjoy writing for CatholicMom.com, even though I had to skip one or two months because I couldn't finish my article with everything else that was going on with life and my baby. And I was able to do a lot of work on Book #2. I received wonderful feedback from amazing beta readers, finished a rewrite, and hired an incredible editor who taught me a lot about writing. I recently received some really helpful feedback on how that manuscript can become even stronger, and even though I could keep things as they are now, I felt a nudge from God to take a little more time and at least try to make the manuscript even stronger.
So, I took my Book #2 publishing timeline off the wall and threw it in the trashcan. I've been letting ideas simmer and I'm excited to try them out on Book #2 soon. I'm trying to learn greater patience as I wait and work on things more, instead of trying to rush the process. I'm trying to embrace greater poverty and detachment as I surrender my plans and just focus on one step at a time. These have been difficult, but important, lessons for me to learn.
Interestingly, someone just gave me The Sign of Jonas, by Thomas Merton, and Merton's struggle as a writer profoundly speaks to me:
"I can become a saint by writing well, for the glory of God, denying myself, judging myself, and mortifying my haste to get into print. Writing is a moral matter, and my typewriter is an essential factor in my asceticism. It will do me much good to learn to choose my words, to think and re-read and correct, and to pray over a manuscript." (p. 40)
For 2026, I hope to keep writing on this blog, my newsletter, and CatholicMom.com, and I plan to keep working at Book #2. I want to implement the changes and seek feedback about them. And I'll go from there! If the changes don't strengthen it, at least this experience should be a good creative exercise.
If I happen to have any writing time to spare beyond that, then I hope/plan to work on the sequel to Book #2-because towards the end of 2025, ideas for a sequel started simmering in my mind! So far, I only have very rough notes in a document, and a few general ideas for how the book might be structured, but that's fine with me. I'm trying to take things slowly with Book #3. And Book #1 is still on my mind; though honestly, with all the ways I've grown as a write in the past year, when I do get back to Book #1, I will have to "kill my darlings," in the words of Stephen King, quite severely-because that book absolutely needs to be rewritten at least 1-2 more times.
In short, I hope to:
- Keep writing on my blog, e-mail newsletter, and CatholicMom.com.
- Make some changes (improvements?) to Book #2 and get feedback on those.
- Continue writing out stories, thoughts, and ideas for Book #3.
- And, if I happen to have any extra time and mental (and physical) energy, start chopping away at Book #1.
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