Anonymous Disciples
In Goggins' novel, Father Jim Collins, a Jesuit with a severe drinking problem, is pulled from the abyss and eventually brings hundreds of others into the light with him. Cure after cure had been attempted, leaving Father Jim feeling like a failed human being and a flawed priest, but the Guest House run by Austin Ripley had a greater and more lasting impact than all the others. A reluctant member of Alcoholics Anonymous upon his return to his teaching college, Father Collins was soon convinced by a friend with a similar crisis to seek out those individuals in prisons and psychiatric hospitals who were most obviously in need of AA. When Father Collins dies, his brother arrives at his funeral, hoping fervently that a few of the priests will make an effort to attend. Instead, the wake is mobbed in the best Irish fashion, and the service must be moved to the largest church on campus to hold the hundreds of people who have felt the effect of Father Collins' apostolate. Not preachy fiction, but a warm and inspiring look at the good accomplished by some people and support groups.Denise Donavin