The Cardinal Club by Suzanne Maggio

July 27, 2020 in Book Stack Tuesday, Books, BookStack Saturday, family, reading

Families are complex. I think we all know this. But sometimes we need a guide to help us understand that complexity and understand our own part in it. The Cardinal Club has done that for me.

This beautifully written memoir by Suzanne Maggio is one of the most satisfying books I’ve read this year. I read it all in one day because I couldn’t put it down. Maggio is a masterful storyteller, weaving incidents and scenes and characters together in a way that made me fully invested in hearing what happened next, as well as the deeper implications of what that next thing was.

The Cardinal Club explores the beautiful and painful parts of being in a family. It explores in deeply human terms the complexities that keep us from speaking our truth in family dynamics–and the short- and long-term implications of those silences.

Applying her wisdom from over 30 years of being a family therapist without any hint of being teachy, Maggio helped me explore my own family dynamics while reading this riveting accounting of her relationship with her siblings and parents, particularly her mother. There is a grace and truthfulness and humility about the author’s story that keeps us from hating her mother because we are shown not only how she harmed her children, but also how she loved them. We are also given insight into the vulnerabilities of the writer herself, the things she wishes she had done differently.

I just love everything about this book, from the title–the meaning of which is so poignant and so visual–to the journeys she takes her readers on to Europe and Nicaragua and beyond. This is an honest, unflinching book that invites us into a family and a life we begin to care deeply about as we read.

– Patti

About Patti Digh

Patti Digh is an author, speaker, and educator who builds learning communities and gets to the heart of difficult topics. Her work over the last three decades has focused on diversity, inclusion, social justice, and living and working mindfully. She has developed diversity strategies and educational programming for major nonprofit and corporate organizations and has been a featured speaker at many national and international conferences.

2 comments to " The Cardinal Club by Suzanne Maggio "


Suzanne Maggio

July 29, 2020 AT 2:43AM

Thank you Patti for your kind and thoughtful review of my book. For me, it was one of those stories that just had to be written and a dream come true when it finally made its way out into the world. When my mother developed Alzheimer’s, and I watched her slip away, I desperately wanted to find a way to make sure she did not disappear. The book is that effort. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and honored that you would recommend it to others.

Russell Shaw

September 22, 2020 AT 11:09AM

Patti,

I was so excited to come across you name and to find out that you live in Asheville NC. Robert, Brenda and I are planning to open our first Life Transformed centers in Asheville. Neither one of us live i the area but are planning to move there in the next couple of years as we build Life Transformed. Our business model in Isolation too Community because we know God designed us to be interactive and we want to help others learn that. We focus on these five areas. Spiritual, Love relationships, financial, physical health and personal development. Would live too hear back from you and get you input and thoughts on our first brick and mortar in Asheville

Russell Shaw Life transfroemed #isolation2community