Granddaughter's memoir paints complicated portrait of would-be saint Dorothy Day

Dorothy Day, back, holds grandson Eric, while Tamar Hennessy, center, holds Becky, with Susie sitting to the left in West Virginia in 1949. Photo courtesy of the Hennessy Family Collection

By Judith Valente | March 8, 2017

(RNS) One of Kate Hennessy’s favorite memories of her grandmother, Catholic social justice activist Dorothy Day, is of sitting in a bedroom at the Catholic Worker farm in Tivoli, N.Y., watching her use an old manual typewriter to answer people’s letters.

“Each letter would of course provoke a story,” Hennessy recalled. “She was a fabulous storyteller with a mesmerizing voice. I could listen to her for hours, just being raised by her voice.”

Watching her grandmother compose what would become famous columns for the Catholic Worker newspaper also impressed Hennessy, the youngest of Day’s nine grandchildren.

“She always said to everyone, ‘Keep a journal.’ So I took her advice. I started keeping a journal, probably from when I was 12 years old. It was really a lifeline for me,” Hennessy said.



http://religionnews.com/2017/03/08/granddaughters-memoir-paints-complicated-portrait-of-would-be-saint-dorothy-day/

http://www.catholicworker.org/