The Mother of the Little Flower: The Sister of St. Therese Tells Us about Her Mother

This is a lovely, although very short, book on the mother of St. Therese, Zelie Martin. It is not so much of a biography, as much of a look at her spiritual practices in life. Much of the book is letters written to and from Zelie, which were excellent insights of how she thought about different aspects of her life (including her marriage, business, death of her children and her fight with cancer) and her children's lives. Her daughter, Celine, wrote the book using these letters, as well as the memories of her and the older daughters. If you are looking for a biography only, you are better off reading The Story of a Family: The Home of St. Therese of Lisieux by Stephane-Joseph Piat, as you will find many details of her life missing from this book. However, this is a wonderful companion to that book. Other than being a companion book, this is a terrific look at an admirable Catholic mother and very inspiring to all Catholics, in particular to parents, and obviously mothers. It definitely left me wanting to know more. I now have a spectacular example of a mother that I can look to for encouragement and inspiration. I highly recommend this book to all Catholics, parents, and anyone who wants to learn more about St. Therese and her family.

I love this book. It offers great advice on how to be a great mother and catholic, like Zelie Martin was. I've used some of her teaching ideas for my child too, helping her to learn what a good deed is and encouraging her to do more. You don't get advice like this anymore.