Book review: Turning Points

‘Turning Points: how thirteen remarkable men and women heard God’s call and responded to it’

Russell Shaw is the author of 20 books, including “Eight Popes and the crisis of modernity” (2020) and “Catholics in America” (2016) recently.

He is also the former secretary of public affairs of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the U.S., and the former director of information of the Knights of Columbus.

This current book is a sampling of various people from various times who had a conversion and became stronger in their faith and acted on it.

The 13 he presents are: Saint Paul the Apostle, Saint Augustine of Hippo, Saint Thomas More, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, Saint John Henry Newman, Saint Therese of Lisieux, Saint Paul VI, Dorothy Day, C.S. Lewis, Caryll Houselander, Saint Josemaria Escriva and Saint Teresa of Avila.

The first part of Shaw’s presentations are biographies, highlighting how that person had a conversion experience or made a decision as to how their lives would go forward to be of service to God and his people. C.S. Lewis was not Catholic, but Anglican.

The biographies flow well and keep the reader’s attention. The second part of the presentation is a discussion about each person’s “conversion” experience and how that person’s life changed and made a difference in their lives and those around them.

Some had major impacts on the world, like Saint Paul the Apostle, Saint Augustine, Saint Ignatius, Pope St. Paul VI and Saint Josemaria Escriva.

Others had a local impact, such as Saint Thomas More, Dorothy Day and Saint Therese, although the latter’s impact occurred after her death with the publishing of her autobiography, which had an influence throughout the world.

Saint Therese was an enclosed Carmelite nun. Saint Teresa of Avila was a Carmelite nun, too, but she reformed her order and this eventually affected other nations which one of those influenced would be Saint Therese.

There are no maps or illustrations. There are footnotes. This book is an interesting read that will inspire and entertain the reader. This book is highly recommended to those interested in saints and other holy people.

Br. Benet Exton, O.S.B., Saint Gregory's Abbey, Shawnee, is a freelance writer for The Sooner Catholic.


Shaw, Russell. 
Turning Points: how thirteen remarkable men and women heard God’s call and responded to it.  
San Francisco : Ignatius Press, 2025.  
ISBN 978-1-62164-772-0.