A Review of ‘Julia’s Gifts (Great War Great Love #1)’ by Ellen Gable

Ellen Gable, the award-winning Catholic author of eight books, has embarked on a new series that mothers will be happy to share with their daughters. In the first installment, Julia’s Gifts, we meet Julia just before Christmas 1917 in Philadelphia, during World War I. She is shopping for a Christmas present for her beloved, and praying for his safety. The reader soon finds that she has not yet met her ‘beloved’. She will be turning 21 soon, and she is hopeful that she will meet her future husband in the upcoming year. 

In March 1918, Julia’s friend encourages her to join the Red Cross, and they begin their service as nurses in France. Untrained, the innocent and naïve Julia is thrown into a world replete with the challenges of lice, flu, pain, sorrow, and blood. She not quite gotten her feet wet when she is told to prepare a German officer for interrogation by Major Peter Winslow, a Canadian who has become bitter and angry after receiving news of a personal tragedy. 

At this point, the reader may think the story will unfold in a predictable way. However, in the messy world of war, nothing happens in exactly the way we think – or hope – it will. The characters cope with their fears and anxieties while reshaping their perceptions of themselves, others, the world, and God. Where does love fit into the picture – if it all? Gable’s story explores that phase of young adulthood that is often defined by an initial disillusionment when confronted with reality. With faith and the grace of God, this stage can result in a blossoming and rediscovery of one’s true self and purpose.

Gable’s books are written in line with the Theology of the Body. She purposely wrote this book so that there are no sexual themes that might be deemed inappropriate for young adolescents. This book presents an opportunity for mothers and daughters to talk about how to prepare for future marriage. There are themes of war, including pestilence, severe injuries, illness, dying, and one suicide, but these are tempered by Gable’s gentle writing style.   

For more information see the author’s publication website Full Quiver Publishing. 

Or purchase the book at Amazon now: 

Paperback edition 

Kindle edition 

If you enjoyed this review you may enjoy my reviews of these books by Ellen Gable:

Emily’s Hope 

In Name Only 

A Subtle Grace 

Stealing Jenny 

The Mystery of Human Suffering

On my way to Home Depot, kids at home with my husband, I blasted the Rocky IV soundtrack from my minivan. Totally uncool, I know. Every time I listen to that I relive memories of me and my dad from when I was little and we would watch the Rocky movies together. He would get all pumped up and start lifting weights. Even after his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, he would continue his weight lifting.

When I came home from a semester abroad, my parents surprised me with the diagnosis. At 18 years of age, I had been studying some atheistic philosophers and stunned my parents in return with the report that I had become an atheist. This was the clincher of my intellectual decision. How could God allow this to happen to my father?

As his disease progressed, he became unable to maintain his physical strength. Once the co-owner of a home building business, later a sales engineer in Manhattan, and always a work-a-holic, it saddened me to see him unable to work as he used to. I still love to build things and stain the house and decks because it reminds me of the work we used to do together.

But Dad never lost his faith. He continued to read his Bible every night. During times when he was unable to read, he would listen to the Bible on CD. He never stopped praying the prayer to “remove this mountain”. And eventually I would come to renew my faith, which reformed with even more resolve once I had performed this debate within myself for several years.

As I prepare for a visit to go see him with the kids, I wonder how it will hit me when I see him again. Every time I see him, years between visits, he looks worse and the change is hard to swallow. Last year at my sister’s wedding, my son took one look at him and cried.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church touches on the Mystery of Human Suffering. It is one of those facets of our faith that defies logic, and the Church has no real explanation except that all will be revealed in the end of times.

In EXCERPTS OF THE LECTURE GIVEN BY CARD. JAVIER LOZANO BARRAGÁN "Pain, an enigma or a mystery?: THE THINKING AND THEOLOGY OF JOHN PAUL II: A Christian understanding of pain and suffering", the profound observations of John Paul II are explained quite succinctly. For anyone wrestling with this mystery right now, I highly recommend reading this short and quite readable document here.

In His Holiness’ own words:
"John Paul II (PASTORAL VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II TO VERCELLI AND TURIN (ITALY)(MAY 23-24, 1998)ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II Sunday, 24 May 1998:"

"4. The image of human suffering is reflected in the Shroud. It reminds modern man, often distracted by prosperity and technological achievements, of the tragic situation of his many brothers and sisters, and invites him to question himself about the mystery of suffering in order to explore its causes. The imprint left by the tortured body of the Crucified One, which attests to the tremendous human capacity for causing pain and death to one's fellow man, stands as an icon of the suffering of the innocent in every age: of the countless tragedies that have marked past history and the dramas that continue to unfold in the world. Before the Shroud, how can we not think of the millions of people who die of hunger, of the horrors committed in the many wars that soak nations in blood, of the brutal exploitation of women and children, of the millions of human beings who live in hardship and humiliation on the edges of great cities, especially in developing countries? How can we not recall with dismay and pity those who do not enjoy basic civil rights, the victims of torture and terrorism, the slaves of criminal organizations? By calling to mind these tragic situations, the Shroud not only spurs us to abandon our selfishness but leads us to discover the mystery of suffering, which, sanctified by Christ's sacrifice, achieves salvation for all humanity. Death is not the ultimate goal of human existence."

(For entire document click here.)


Good is always greater than evil and I can only comfort myself in that, for all the bad we experience on this earth, we cannot begin to imagine the majesty of the goodness that we will feel in Heaven.

Christ Carrying the Cross Attributed to Marco d' Oggiono
Italian, about 1495 - 1500