This book should appeal to people interested to get involved in Catholic social-justice efforts or learn about Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker, who might not be drawn to read the more academic and theological treatises on these subjects. There are many books that take a scholarly approach; this one does not.
Colin Miller has his own PhD but to his credit wears it lightly and takes a layperson’s approach, using chapter titles such as “Fragmented, Anxious, and Lonely” and “Gardens, Chickens, and Dumpsters”; and headings within chapters that speak volumes, such as “From ‘Doing for’ to ‘Being With.’ “
Miller frames much of what he writes around personal experiences living with his family at the Maurin House, a Catholic Worker community in Minneapolis he co-founded. The values they live center on community, praying together, living simply and inexpensively, and giving priority to the needs of the poor.
A reader will learn nuggets about the lives and teachings of both Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, who co-founded the Catholic Worker movement in 1933. There is in fact more of Maurin, here, than Day. But like Day, Colin Miller is a convert to Catholicism, which comes through in the writing. Miller was an Episcopal priest before turning to Catholicism and he often seeks to demonstrate what a classic Catholic, justice-oriented, approach would be to a topic — such as when defining “work,” or on the meaning of “the common good.” He does this often by quoting Church documents and the teachings of popes.
Miller’s publisher has also shown a desire to reach ordinary readers, rather than graduate students, by using larger, friendly type and also keeping the retail price at an affordable level.
