Edith Stein: The Life and Legacy of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda
Sophia Institute Press, 221 pages
www.sophiainstitute.com

Edith Stein was one amazing woman in early 20th-century Germany. She was an intellectual — earning a doctorate in philosophy — at a time when advanced studies were uncommon for women, particularly Jewish women. Denied a professorship, she lectured, wrote, and translated works of philosophy. Having converted to Catholicism, she became a Discalced Carmelite, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Yet Jewish by birth, she was arrested by the Nazis and died in a concentration camp in 1942. Scaperlanda deftly juxtaposes Stein’s biography with a narrative on the rise and advance of Nazism, resulting in a highly engaging portrait of this modern saint, her faith journey, and her remarkable intellect.

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