Serious Little Catholics follows Kathy Gereau, the oldest of seven children, as she grows up in the mid-’50s and ’60s and makes her way through Catholic school alongside her siblings. Initially, she buys into the mysteries of faith and the litany of rules being spouted by the Sisters of Mercy. But when her fourth grade teacher tells the class that Kathy’s sweet little Protestant grandmother would … would never be admitted into heaven, she begins to question the rigid dogma of the church. Later, she discovers that not all boys are as goofy as her brothers and struggles with the notion that it is a woman’s responsibility to discourage men from the plague of impure thoughts. Even an innocent flirtation can sinfully lead men into a temptation they are not capable of resisting; it doesn’t seem fair.Ultimately, with the help of her classmates and a few understanding teachers, she learns to laugh at the ridiculous bits of her religion—and discovers the spiritual message within.
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Kathy Gereau, the author of “Serious Little Catholics” has written a witty and intriguing memoir. The genres for this book are Catholic Humor, and memoir. The timeline for this memoir is set in the fifties and sixties and goes to the past and to the future when it pertains to the characters and events.
Through humor and the author’s experiences, she writes about memorable incidents in Catholic School that made her question some of the things said in Catholicism. Some of the teachers and Nuns had rigid ideas and severe punishment. Kathy had a large family.
When one of her fellow students asked if his pet dog would be going to heaven, the teacher was absolutely firm, and said “No”. When The author asked if her Protestant Aunt would go to heaven, she was told absolutely not, and the author remembers her aunt is such a sweet woman. Later on in school, when sex education was presented, the author was left confused that men were treated so differently.
I appreciate that Kathy Gereau shares her personal experiences with honesty and wit, and as she matures, she starts to appreciate the true spiritual message. I would recommend this thought-provoking book to others.
This was a perfect, light-hearted giggle read! This novel also brought back many memories of when I was a child in a private school. I went to a Lutheran school, a little different in strictness but still very many of the same things. I think the main difference was we did not have nuns teaching us, but we still had the fear of God and the fear of the devil put into our beliefs daily. I had to chuckle at quite a few chapters, in remembering how that part of the Bible was taught to us, and all too similar.
Kathy did a great job in telling her story from the perspective of an innocent child still learning about the world. I loved that she made it an entertaining read, while showing how private school really is. I remember fearing that anything I did, was a sin as well and everything revolved around church. I do have lots of good memories of that time, but those who never attended private school really have no idea how different it really is.
I would highly suggest this to anyone who loved Glass Castle or To the Moon and Back, this is a little more light hearted than those reads but still along the same lines of what life was like growing up in a family of kids and sometimes questionable parents. I really enjoyed this novel, the chapters were real short and often gave a good chuckle at the mindset of how an innocent child perceived things that were taught. That chapters were also very short, and this was a fast read.
This was a wonderful memoir! Kathy’s personality is fun and really comes out through the words on the page! I really enjoyed that she writes this book with light-hearted stories and a lovely attitude.
Serious Little Catholics is a story of growing up Catholic. We see Kathy’s thoughts and perspective of being in Catholic school and beyond. She tells stories that make you laugh, and she provides great context around the faith that she grew up in.
I really enjoyed this memoir. Kathy had me laughing through her entire book. Her perspective on faith, family, and religion are wonderfully written, and made the book such a joy to read! Regardless of your current faith, I think any reader can find this to be a fun story!
I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.
Kathy Gereau’s memoir “Serious Little Catholics” is hilarious, exquisitely detailed, and full of helpful information about the Catholic faith, especially for a lapsed Methodist like me, married to a lapsed Catholic. Through Ms. Gereau’s observant eyes I learned about saints and sinning and holy water and indulgences, all the while laughing my head off. Serious Little Catholics is even funnier than “Late Night Catechism,” the solo comedy play about a fictional Catholic nun, written in 1993.
I grew up in the same era as the author and loved reliving all the details about food, clothes and music. Ms. Gereau either has a photographic memory or she took very good notes. She was the oldest child of seven siblings and her love for family shines through as well as what faith really means, once you lose all the religious trappings. A fun, fast read.