Mercy House

A Novel

By: Alena Dillon

Narrated by: Dawn Harvey, Catherine Ho, Scarlette Hayes, Eboni Flowers, Caitlin Kelly, Bahni Turpin

“A life-altering debut featuring fierce, funny, and irreverent women who battle the most powerful institution in the world. This is the book we’ve all been waiting for.”—Amy Schumer

She would stop at nothing to protect the women under her care.

Inside a century-old row house in Brooklyn, renegade Sister Evelyn and her fellow nuns preside over a safe haven for the abused and abandoned. Gruff and indomitable on the surface, warm and wry underneath, little daunts Evelyn, until she receives word that Mercy House will be investigated by Bishop Hawkins, a man with whom she shares a dark history. In order to protect everything they’ve built, the nuns must conceal many of their methods, which are forbidden by the Catholic Church.

Evelyn will go to great lengths to defend all that she loves. She confronts a gang member, defies the church, challenges her own beliefs, and faces her past. She is bolstered by the other nuns and the vibrant, diverse residents of the shelter—Lucia, Mei-Li, Desiree, Esther, and Katrina—whose differences are outweighed by what unites them: they’ve all been broken by men but are determined to rebuild.

Amidst her fight, Evelyn discovers the extraordinary power of mercy and the grace it grants, not just to those who receive it, but to those strong enough to bestow it.

WOW

I found this book to be outstanding! It touched on subjects near and dear to my heart. The mlm location, being where I grew up in, Brooklyn, allowed me to imagine the location. Great characters as well.

performance kept me involved throughout

Loved this book, especially the writing. Tough subject matter, but I am so glad to have read it.

A Human Story About Women

The story is a powerful one. The back and forth through time works really well in fleshing out the backstory of the women of Mercy House. It’s not common to read about an aged character and to find her so relatable. I found myself routing
for each of them, but especially for Sister Evelyn.

I really enjoyed the readers’ portrayals of each of the characters. They seemed so alive and sympathetic without being wimpy. I felt lots of emotions throughout the story, which always makes a book enjoyable and memorable. Great book!

Enjoyed this book. Thought provoking and honest.

As a catholic, I thought I would not care for the story once I understood the underlying theme.. but I read on. sexual abuse happens everywhere, anywhere. The truth that I loved about this was how each individual woman overcame their own abuse and feelings of unworthiness. that is the "happy ending" most of us desire.

Seems to be written for the small screen, imo

I liked Mercy House, I did. When you hover over the 3 star mark it says "It's pretty good" and that's pretty much where I am with it. It kept my attention during my long walks and I became somewhat invested in the characters. Great piece of literature- no, but entertaining nonetheless. As time went on, however, the dialogue seemed like it was written expressly for a TV series. Take the residents of Mercy House. There was every different ethnicity you could have (which don't get me wrong it great! Diversity is good! But it also is great for casting too!). The dialogue of the residents is often a little cliched. You have the sassy black prostitute, the wise and somber Haitian immigrant, the closed off Latina, the quiet as a mouse little white girl..etc. I really wouldn't be surprised to see this turned into a series. And if that's the case- I'll probably watch it! My point it- it just seemed to be written for TV, if that makes any sense.
So, was it good? It was pretty good. Were the performances good? Yes they were! Was the story good? Pretty good, but it seemed to want throw every thing they could in one fail swoop....molestation, murder, abortion, rape, abandonment, angry drug dealers, just everything.....