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    Full of Grace
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    Full of Grace
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    Full of Grace
    Ebook410 pages6 hours

    Full of Grace

    By Dorothea Benton Frank

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    A moving story of the power of love and the miracles of life—chock full of Southern wit, sass, and charm

    Grace is an intelligent, (struggling-to-be) independent 31-year-old single woman living (in sin!) with the man she’d marry if they both weren’t so commitment phobic. Michael is a doctor and a scientist and Grace has a good idea that he’s also an atheist. Over the years, this dutiful Catholic girl has become ambivalent about her faith. But her family is as devoutly old-fashioned as it gets.

    The stage is set for a major showdown that might just change Grace’s outlook on life, family,and the South itself.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061744266
    Author

    Dorothea Benton Frank

    New York Times bestseller Dorothea Benton Frank was born and raised on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. Until her passing in 2019, Dorothea and her husband split their time between New Jersey and South Carolina. A contemporary voice of the South, Dorothea Benton Frank was beloved by fans and friends alike since her debut novel Sullivans Island. Readers from coast to coast fell for the quick wit and the signature humor that permeated her many bestselling novels.

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    Reviews for Full of Grace

    3.5/5

    118 ratings7 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This is a departure from Frank's earlier stories. Still based in the South Carolina low country, the story is of a transplanted New Jersey Italian family and especially Grace, the daughter. It's more a story of families, and has its particularly melancholy moments as Grace's lover fights with cancer and the grandmother breaks her hip and fights being in rehab. But it's still a super story and I enjoyed it.
    • 1/5
      I'm a faithful Catholic. Even work for a Catholic parish. So I don't have anything against religion in a book. But this was so ridiculously heavy-handed the spiritual or religious message took all the fun out of it. I found myself rolling my eyes when the unbelievable Fr. John talked. A lot of misunderstandings about what the Church teaches are addressed and, clarified but I don't know who would read this if they weren't already convinced. The romance wasn't strong enough to overcome the heavy handed apologetics.
    • 3/5
      A departure from Frank's usual fare, but I enjoyed it.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I see a few did not rate the book well, but I have to differ. I rather enjoyed reading about Grace and her crazy family along with her wonderful boyfriend Michael. It makes you see how other families deal with certain issues that come their way and just how open some Catholics are. As a cancer survivor myself I could relate to Michael and Grace and their fears and joys. I am also Lutheran and can relate to some of the Catholic was as well. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good love story, religious, humor and down right crazy folk.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This book was surprising in many ways. Having read several books by this author, I was sure I would like this one as well. I did, but not the way that I expected.The book starts with a rather mundane accounting of Grace's day-to-day life. She's living with her boyfriend, Michael, who is a research physician. On holidays, she visits her family—but without Michael who isn't welcome at her parent's home. Part of the reason is because he's using stem cells in his research and their Catholic doctrine condemns it. But the primary reason is that he's not Italian; he's Irish, of all things.I was lulled along, getting to know the Russos through Grace's visits with them—the conflicts being played out over a dinner table loaded with holiday goodies. Then, the family has to face two crises. First, Nonna falls and breaks her hip. In considerable pain, she refuses to cooperate with her therapists and demands to go home, expecting Grace's mother to care for her around the clock. Then, Michael is diagnosed with a virulent form of cancer and Grace needs her family's support as never before.My favorite character in this book is Father John. I'd like to meet him in real life. In one scene, discussing en vitro fertilization, he says, "I think that the Church's major area of concern has always been that children are begotten not made. Is it right to make children in a laboratory setting just because we can?" And also, "The trick is not to rationalize your decisions knowing that they displease God."I was only looking for a good story, but along with that, I got some wise spiritual guidance. A good deal in my book.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      Blech!!! I was looking forward to this one, after previously reading another book by the author. Her “Sullivan's Island” was richly evocative of the area – its setting, people, customs, mood. This one left me cold. The title character lives in Charleston, and we are introduced to a lot of local restaurants and streets, but they never 'become' part of the story; it felt more like a laundry list of names. Grace is in the luxury travel industry and the author fills pages with descriptions of her tourists and their destinations – Sardinia, California wine country, Mexico City. But there was no magic. Well, actually there WAS magic, but not in great writing. It was all religiosity, catholic saints and miracles. The story line was mundane and predictable. I expected more of Frank's genius in the setting department as well. The characters of the immediate family, though, were fully fleshed out and believable, but that's the only thing I cared for in this book.
    • 2/5
      I liked the way the story was told, and the voice of the main character. Some of the details about the Italian family rang true. But, overall, the storyline was predictable and frustrating.