I used to avoid the short-story genre because short fiction always leaves me hungry for more.

The short stories and poetry in Image and Likeness, an anthology of literary reflections on the Theology of the Body, are no exception to that trend. In fact, I emailed editors Erin McCole Cupp and Ellen Gable when I was only about 30% done with the book to let them know this. I want more from these authors.

Fortunately, the contributing writers have plenty of novels, short fiction and even poetry to offer. I’m very familiar with the novels by some of these authors, but others are new to me, and I’ll happily dive into their other work.

So what, exactly, are “literary reflections on the Theology of the Body?”

They’re stories and poems about how we live, and how we live our lives in relationship with each other, with our bodies, with our souls, and with God. It’s not some complicated, esoteric subject. Editor Erin McCole Cupp observes,

IAL is a fresh approach to St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, placing the naked truth of this saint’s teachings on the meaning of human substance in the illustrating light of literature, through both short stories and poetry.

Because it’s an anthology, there’s something for everyone, from detective stories to poetry to tales of family life that range from the harrowing to the uplifting. These stories and poems are about life. Like life, they are not always neat and tidy and packaged in a pretty box with a crisply-tied ribbon. I’ve come to expect just this from other work from Full Quiver Publishing: this publisher does not shy away from difficult subjects and situations in its commitment to promoting the culture of life and the Church’s teaching on marriage and family.

Image and Likeness: Literary Reflections on the Theology of the Body will not only bring you to tears occasionally, it will make you think. There’s no preaching, no hammering the reader over the head with the Truth, but the Truth is all over these stories.

The Kindle edition of the 202-page anthology is available today for $4.99. It’s worth every penny.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links; your purchase through these links helps support this blog. Thank you! I was given a free review copy of this book by the publisher, but no other compensation. Opinions expressed here are mine alone.