Announcing our 2023 summer read along
You, me, + Dorothy
I’ve got some very fun news today.
Our 2023 summer read along selection is…
…The Long Loneliness, Dorothy Day’s autobiography!
You all know how much I love Dorothy. Her legendary activism, her heart for the Lord, her courage in the face of injustice…it just gets my Catholic feminist heart all tingly-tangly!
The fancy official book description: This inspiring and fascinating memoir, subtitled, “The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist,” The Long Loneliness is the late Dorothy Day’s compelling autobiographical testament to her life of social activism and her spiritual pilgrimage. A founder of the Catholic Worker Movement and longtime associate of Peter Maurin, Dorothy Day was eulogized in the New York Times as, “a nonviolent social radical of luminous personality.” The Long Loneliness recounts her remarkable journey from the Greenwich Village political and literary scene of the 1920s through her conversion to Catholicism and her lifelong struggle to help bring about “the kind of society where it is easier to be good.”
Everyone has an opinion on Dorothy. This group thinks she’s a raging communist; that group thinks she would hate the trads today. This group thinks she was actually too traditional; that group thinks she should have organized the Catholic Worker better. This group thinks she was a radical; that group thinks she did too little. So let’s dive into her actual words, read her life story (with some context I can share after having read 4+ different biographies of her and doing a mountain of independent research!) and learn from what this holy woman has to say.
This year for our read along, our discussions (for paid subscribers) will take place in the Substack chat feature. I’m SUPER excited about utilizing this. I was a little gun shy for a while (le sigh, one more platform to keep up with? And would people actually use it?) but when I asked in a letter a few weeks back, the majority of you said that the chat would be your preferred method of communication for the read along. And I do *love* that they finally launched chat for the browser, so while you can access it in the Substack app, you don’t have to if you prefer your laptop to your phone (like me!)
While I’ll be sharing a few prompts, as well as a worksheet featuring a work of art, a song, and a prayer that I thought fit with that section of the book, I’m hoping most of the conversation will be driven by you—our community!
Art by Fritz Eichenberg
Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin founded the Catholic Worker movement with one ideal being the clarification of thought. They liked thoughtful conversation, charitable arguments, and lively debates all with the focus of how we best love God and our neighbor. I can’t wait to recreate these digitally during our read along. Bring your most firecracker opinions + your humblest heart.
Our read along pace:
May 15: Discussion of intro (titled Confession) and chapters 1-7
June 15: Discussion of chapters 8-14
July 15: Discussion of chapters 15-21
August 15: Discussion of chapters 22-28
Early September: A Zoom roundtable featuring a Dorothy Day expert (still figuring out the details…sadly, we can’t chat with the author this summer—except through prayer, amIright? Servant of God Dorothy Day, pray for us!)
Obviously, anyone can check out the book from the library + read along on that schedule! But if you want to join us for the chat discussions, as well as access the supplementary material I’ll be providing, please upgrade to a paid subscription.
If you’re wondering why I’m announcing a summer read along when there’s snow on the ground in some parts of the country…it’s because May is actually right around the corner, and I wanted to give you plenty of time to get the book. I highly recommend checking out your own indie bookstore or ThriftBooks.com.
I can’t wait to spend the summer with you and Dorothy.
“We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.” - Servant of God Dorothy Day
In Him Through Her,
Claire
YAY!! This is the best news to find in my inbox this morning.
Quick story: my daughter is named after Dorothy Day (Norah Day) and my son is named after Superman (Kal, referencing Kal-el, Superman's Krypton name. Thanks, husband.) We were watching an animated Superman movie for family movie night, and my husband was telling my son all about his namesake. This led to my daughter asking about her namesake. I love Dorothy so much, but was worried that she wasn't going to seem as glamourous as the action hero we were watching. My husband, however, had the perfect response: "You know, Dorothy Day was a lot like Superman. She didn't always know where she was supposed to belong, but that never stopped her from trying to always do the right thing. She always put the needs of others first. And she saved a lot of people, just like Superman. She's like a real life superhero." The good thing was that my daughter was super excited about her name sake. The bad thing was having to explain to both kids why we don't ask Superman to pray for us.
I am looking forward to this! Last year's read along did not disappoint and I expect to be educated and challenged as much as I was with the Abigail Favale book.