Mariette in Ecstasy
by Ron Hansen | 
Our Lady of the Forest
by David Guterson | 
In This House of Brede
by Rumer Godden | 
Acts of Faith
by Erich Segal | 
Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy
by Rumer Godden | 
The Shoes of the Fisherman
by Morris West | 
The Holy
by Daniel Quinn | 
Jesus Saves
by Darcey Steinke | 
Our Lady of the Lost and Found
by Diane Schoemperlen | 
To Rise Again at a Decent Hour
by Joshua Ferris | 
Fallen
by David Maine | 
The Rapture of Canaan
by Sheri Reynolds | 
The Ball and the Cross
by G. K. Chesterton | 
The Nun's Story
by Kathryn Hulme | 
36 Arguments for the Existence of God
by Rebecca Goldstein | 
Visions of Glory
by John Pontius | 
Secrets of Divine Love
by A. Helwa | 
The Triumph of Zion
by John Pontius | 
Reading Revelation Responsibly
by Michael J. Gorman | 
Beginning to Pray
by Anthony Bloom |
Mark Salzman's Lying Awake is a finely wrought gem that plumbs the depths of one woman's soul, and in so doing raises salient questions about the power-and price-of faith. Sister John's cloistered life of peace and prayer has been electrified by ever more frequent visions of God's radiance, leading her toward a deep religious ecstasy. Her life and writings have become examples of devotion. Yet her visions are accompanied by shattering headaches that compel Sister John to seek medical help. When her doctor tells her an illness may be responsible for her gift, Sister John faces a wrenching choice: to risk her intimate glimpses of the divine in favor of a cure, or to continue her visions with the knowledge that they might be false-and might even cost her her life. From the Trade Paperback edition.