A Martyr's Crown

American journalist, Sarah Castillo, who blames her husband for her teenage son's death, has a life-changing encounter with a Catholic priest who survived torture at the hands of jihadists. Sarah meets Fr. George Rama when she asks him for a quote about an attack on a Catholic church in Iraq. Through Fr. Rama-and the lessons of her late father as related in his journal-Sarah learns what forgiveness, faith and love really mean. Her newly acquired friend, Sholeh, an Iranian immigrant who...
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American journalist, Sarah Castillo, who blames her husband for her teenage son's death, has a life-changing encounter with a Catholic priest who survived torture at the hands of jihadists. Sarah meets Fr. George Rama when she asks him for a quote about an attack on a Catholic church in Iraq. Through Fr. Rama-and the lessons of her late father as related in his journal-Sarah learns what forgiveness, faith and love really mean. Her newly acquired friend, Sholeh, an Iranian immigrant who has converted to Catholicism from Islam, proves a staunch ally in Sarah's quest to help Fr. Rama's struggling community of Chaldean Catholics. Readers will also be moved by the story of Hanne and Fadi, a young couple in Mosul whose lives seem to be unraveling as the violence and persecution around them escalates.