In which trek reviews Rome Sweet Rome

Quite some years ago, I'd heard about a guy by the name of Scott Hahn from a couple of people. They mentioned that he had been a virulent anti-Catholic Presbyterian minister who converted to Catholicism.

Last week, I requested Rome Sweet Homefrom a fellow Lendler. The loan came through and I downloaded it on Friday. I am so glad that I did.

Number Guy's bagpipe band had a weekend gig out of state so we all packed up and piled in and drove seven hours up mountains and down valleys, to our destination. As frustrating as the heavy traffic and delays were, they were nowhere near so annoying as Alice, who decided to come along on the trip. It's bad enough when she drops in unexpectedly at home, but to commandeer a weekend trip? Talk about pushy!

If Alice's joining us wasn't bad enough, the weather turned foul overnight. Torrential rains and a drop in temperature resulted in Number Guy hitching a ride from the hotel to the gig with another piper while Neatnik, Alice, and I zipped to the nearest mega-mart for long pants and sweatshirts. At least that went well: grabbed two full changes of clothes off the clearance rack for the Neatnik for just seventeen dollars.

Back at the hotel, Neatnik dragged Alice and I to the pool. I tried to get Alice to bug off while soaking in the hot tub for an hour. This did not work very well, sorry to say but it was warming. Afterwards, we dressed as warmly as we could and drove over to meet the band for lunch. With Neatnik fed and a break in the rains, I thought things might be looking up. Then the rains resumed and poor Neatnik started shivering. Back to the hotel and pool.

While Neatnik imitated a dolphin on speed, I read Rome Sweet Rome. It was riveting. The book is arranged in successive life segments. First Scott writes about what was going on in his life, then Kimberly responds with her own story in the same time interval.

Scott describes his childhood as nominally Protestant. In high school, he became serious about Scripture from his association with an organization called Young Life. He studied Martin Luther and John Calvin and became very anti-Catholic. He was convinced that the Roman Catholic Church was in error and worked diligently to pull Catholics away from teh Church to a purer Christianity. Kimberly's childhood was quite a bit different as she was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister. Her family life revolved around church and church-based youth activities.

Somewhere during the early years of Scott and Kimberly's marriage, I decided Neatnik was sufficiently waterlogged and pulled her from the pool. We decamped to the lobby to wait for the soggy pipers to return, she playing on the computer and me reading.

When Number Guy reappeared, cold and soggy, my Kindle reminded me for the third time that it was tired and wished to cuddle up with some alternating current, please. I was in a quandary: Scott had just become a Roman Catholic and Kimberly was feeling lost and abandoned by all. I couldn't in good conscience abandon her - though I was still wishing that Alice would abandon me.

I put my Kindle on the charger in the minivan and downloaded the book to Neatnik's Kindle and kept going.

I finished Rome Sweet Rome in less than a day. I don't often opt for biographical or autobiographical works but this one, the story of a journey to find a spiritual home, drew me in completely. It was easy to identify with Scott's searching and studying at the same time as sympathizing with Kimberly's feelings of loneliness and abandonment.

Scott's writing voice and Kimberly's are definitely different and not merely the difference between a male and a female writer. His comes across more passionately; hers is more reserved but very erudite.

Scott describes the story as detective in the beginning, horror in the middle, and romance at the end. While I can see and understand his descriptions of the parts of the journey, I see the story as a whole as a tale of bravery. Takes a brave man to risk all and he nearly did.

The answers to his questions led Scott to resign from his (successful) pastorate and his teaching position. Protestant friends became cold and distant, perceiving Scott's conversion as a degeneration into heresy.

Stepping out in faith, despite the risks, paid off: eventually, Kimberly also converted to Catholicism and Scott took up a teaching position as Professor of Theology at Franciscan University (Steubenville, Ohio), one of the most Christ-centered Catholic universities in the country.

An excellent read.