Dorothy Day

December 1, 2019

In this first book-length biography of Dorothy Day (1897-1980) in 40 years, coauthors Loughery (Dagger John) and Randolph (Amelia Earhart) trace their subject's life from her childhood and rejection of her family's conservative values through her death to the introduction of her cause for canonization in 1997. With ambitions of becoming a writer, Day moved to New York's bohemian Greenwich Village, where her associates included close friend and playwright Eugene O'Neill. After a period of heavy drinking, smoking, and sexual activity during which she had an abortion and a daughter out of wedlock, she converted to Catholicism and her life changed dramatically. Always doctrinally conservative, Day was decidedly radical concerning social justice issues such as the plight of the poor, racism, workers' rights, and antiwar activities. Best known for founding the Catholic Worker movement with French visionary Peter Maurin, Day opened houses of hospitality in a number of U.S. cities and founded the left-leaning Catholic Worker newspaper, still in print. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers interested in 20th-century sociopolitical history as well as Day's life.--Denise J. Stankovics, Vernon, CT

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December 1, 2019
The tempestuous life of 20th-century America's archprogressive, Dorothy Day (1897-1980). Loughery (Dagger John: Archbishop John Hughes and the Making of Irish America, 2018) and Randolph (Amelia Earhart, 1990, etc.) provide a serviceable and largely balanced look at one of America's most complex and socially influential figures. The authors begin with a protracted exploration of Day's young adulthood, a period rife with cross-county moves, love affairs, and interactions with World War I-era radicals. Her development as a writer, thinker, and activist is intertwined with sometimes-salacious tales of her relationships with intelligent but immature men who too often caused her great pain. Eventually, Day's plunge into Catholicism redirected her passions while confusing her friends and family. The authors move on to discuss Day's encounter with mystic wanderer Peter Maurin and the ensuing creation of the Catholic Worker, at once a publication, a collection of communal homes, and a way of life. Moving through the militant 1930s and the desperate 1940s, the authors do a good job of locating Day's life and work in the midst of a wide variety of colorful characters and contentious controversies. Day was a polarizing figure seemingly with everyone: the church, the government, and fellow activists alike. This reality did not abate as the century matured, though Day's name moved on from being an FBI target to having near-celebrity status. Though Loughery and Randolph's work does not provide the personal depth of Kate Hennessy's exceptional Dorothy Day: The World Will Be Saved by Beauty (2017), they do provide an excellent record of Day's involvement in the progressive circles of her time. The authors touch on countless personalities within Day's sphere of influence and use her as a focal point in their exploration of issues ranging from homelessness to homosexuality and historical events ranging from Sacco and Vanzetti to the Spanish Civil War. An intriguing glance at a complex and countercultural personality.

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January 20, 2020
Biographers Loughery (Dagger John) and Randolph (Charles Lindbergh) deliver a painstakingly detailed portrait of Catholic social activist Dorothy Day (1897–1980). Born in Brooklyn, Day experienced “genteel poverty” before her sportswriter father found work at a staunchly Republican newspaper in Chicago. After a short college stint, she moved to New York City, started writing for left-wing dailies, and by age 19 was part of a bohemian Greenwich Village scene that included Eugene O’Neill and Jews Without Money author Mike Gold (Day dated both men). Though she would later declare, “All my life, I have been haunted by God,” it was Day’s desire to baptize her daughter—who was born out of wedlock in 1926—that catalyzed her conversion to Catholicism. With French theologian Peter Maurin, she founded the Catholic Worker newspaper in 1933 and became the charismatic and controversial leading voice of a social justice movement. Day defended conscientious objectors, ran afoul of the Archdiocese of New York, and, at age 75, spent two weeks in jail for joining Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers Strike. Loughery and Randolph skillfully capture the varied atmospheres of Day’s diverse milieus and offer valuable insight into her lifelong intellectual awakening. Readers interested in progressive causes will find inspiration in this granular biography of a “mesmerizing, demanding, paradoxical woman.”

February 1, 2020
Dorothy Day led a contradictory, complex life that makes for compelling reading. Loughery and Randolph recount her wayward years as a writer in Greenwich Village in the 1920s, when she took lovers (including Eugene O'Neill) and worked for ultraprogressive causes. The authors illuminate her early abortion and her fraught relationship with her daughter. Her conversion to Catholicism, her creation of the Catholic Worker movement, and her rejection of America's materialist values and imperialist agenda. Ultimately, they chronicle her evolution from a lost young woman to a candidate for Catholic sainthood. These phases of Day's life are cogently presented, notably including the privations of life in the Catholic Worker houses, where Day's acolytes served the poor, asked nothing in return, and were sometimes abused for their trouble. Missing is deeper psychological insight into what drove Day towards such a difficult life and what inspired such fierce loyalty among her followers. Too many names of minor characters slow the narrative. Still, this biography will be eagerly devoured by anyone interested in Day and her current prospects for canonization.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)