I have always found conversion stories to be fascinating, but an atheist converting to Catholicism is the most interesting story of them all. I am especially attracted to the intellectual thought process laid out by Libresco in Arriving at Amen. Libresco takes the reader from Javert in Les Miserables to Peter, the rock on which the church is built. The author starts with treating faith and proof of God like a mathematical proof and ends with the beauty of the Eucharist. Arriving at Amen is organized by different types of prayer such as petition, confession, examen, rosary, divine office, lectio divina, and mass. For all the readers who have wondered how to start praying and am I doing it right, this book is a refreshing comfortable reinforcement of faith and your growing relationship with God. Libresco has a fresh approach to learning about praying with the perspective of a new Catholic. The use of humor makes the book very conversational and easily approachable and digestible. My favorite quote is “For me, this is the resolution to the ancient paradox of Theseus: the grace present in the Eucharist alters me, but it does so by making me more myself. Like a mellified man, I find that I am changed by what I consume, but the holy food distributed at mass brings me healing and eternal life, not just sweetness in death.” This gives you a flavor for the book and is a beautiful sentiment of what the Eucharist can mean to you. I would definitely recommend this book to you. I thoroughly enjoyed the format and the voice of the author. Arriving at Amen is a different kind of prayer book that gave me many new ideas of how to begin different types of prayer that I was previously not familiar. Libresco’s conversion story is overarching throughout the story but the reader can also feel confident in the author’s knowledge and leadership with strong Catholic prayer details.
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