About the Book:
Teenager Evie Gallagher is stunned when her 45-year-old father dies tragically and suddenly. Too many unanswered questions accompany Evie’s challenging journey to adulthood. When she finally discovers the reason her father led such a troubled life, shock turns to anger. She is determined to find justice for her father.
Nervous about the first day of his freshman year, 14-year-old Hank Gallagher steps inside Holy Archangels High School for the first time in September of 1954. Although the majestic Holy Archangels statues inside the school’s grand lobby present an air of protection, it is not long before Hank passes right under them and into the hands of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Confused and cornered by threats, Hank attempts to abandon his secret to the past, but a horrible wound on his heart eventually leads to a catastrophic breakdown.
Based loosely on actual events, chapters alternate between Evie and Hank to reveal a life haunted by betrayal and a revelation of true justice and hope.
Where Angels Pass – New Catholic fiction from @ellengable @fullquivpub #CatholicFiction Share on X
Special release sale!
Until Christmas 2021: $2.99 e-book (reg. $4.99), $12.99 print (reg. $15.99)
Advance reviews:
Beautifully written, yet heart-rending tale of sexual abuse and the long-term effects such a crime has on its victims. I believe this novel will bring to light the utter tragedy of clerical abuse and the ripple effect it has for generations to come. Yet through the darkness of that abomination, dawn rises, and we are assured that justice can prevail, and healing can be achieved. I highly recommend this book for anyone who seeks to understand, for this just might be one of the most important novels of our time.
Mary Jo Thayer, award-winning author of Close to the Soul
Ellen Gable tells a very personal and difficult story, Where Angels Pass, with such gentleness, love, and heartfelt honesty. What I expected to be an uncomfortable story ended up being a love story of a daughter for her father, a father who suffered the lifelong effects of something no young person should ever experience. Thank you, Ellen, for sharing this deeply moving story that will surely touch readers in a very profound way.
Jim Sano, author, The Father’s Son
Incredible book. Magnificently done. A story with uncompromising honesty. Children reflect our worst and best selves. What they inherit from us speaks to our final judgment. Here is a story that offers humanity hope despite one of the worst sins of all—the corruption of innocence.
A.K. Frailey, author
Ellen Gable Hrkach addresses the darkness of sexual abuse and the resulting lifelong wounds with delicate finesse.
Michelle Buckman, award-winning author of Turning Circles and Rachel’s Contrition
I couldn’t put this book down, so don’t let the topic deter you. The story, told simply and honestly—and without sensationalism—will draw you in and have you rooting for these characters long after you close the book.
Victoria Ryan, author
The greatest tragedy that could befall the Roman Catholic Church is for a child’s innocence to be stolen by a priest. And yet it has happened thousands of times and continues to happen. Told by Ellen Gable, as only she can tell it, with candor and faith, this story sheds light on the darkness of a case of clerical abuse. As the results of the abuse envelop an entire family, one sees how that the original victim truly had his life destroyed by one evil man. A moving and heart-breaking read that will change your life and strengthen your faith!
Elena-Maria Vidal, author
Where Angels Pass may be hard to read at times, but you will not regret the insights it provides into one of the darkest issues of our time. With skill and sensitivity, Ellen Gable presents the story of one boy and his family, showing the devastating effects of clerical sexual abuse on him and eventually his wife and children.
Theresa Linden, author of award-winning Catholic fiction
Ellen Gable has done a great service to our Church, the victims of this dreaded abuse, and particularly to their families whose suffering has gone virtually unnoticed. While sharing this story was no doubt painful for her, Ellen’s courage in doing so will help other families living through this nightmare. She has done a masterful job mixing fact with fiction.
Michael Seagriff, author
And in the unfolding of the story — with the inevitable fury and sorrow that surfaces along the way — we are finally brought face to face with Jesus’ call to forgive those who harm us. A feat that Ellen shows us is not impossible, for nothing is impossible for those with God on their side. This book will change, teach, and inspire. Every Catholic should read it.
Veronica Smallhorn, author, A Channel of Your Peace
My review:
Where Angels Pass is a challenging and necessary novel based on the author’s family experience. Told in split time, from the perspective of young Hank, sexually abused by his teacher (a Catholic priest), and his daughter, the story allows the reader to see the devastating and lingering effect such abuse has on individuals, families, and descendants in a variety of ways – physical, psychological, and spiritual.
The author ties the novel to touchstones of the eras and world events that work to integrate the story into our lives and times in a way that makes the story personal yet universal.
Where Angels Pass does what fiction does best. It allows the reader to understand, through story, the hard truths necessary for understanding, compassion, and ultimately change. Notably, it does so by placing blame where it should lie and without denigrating authentic faith.
4.5 stars
Excerpt:
Fr. Tim unlocked his classroom door, and the two stepped inside. Fr. Tim closed the door behind him as he said, “Would you please erase and clean the chalkboards?”
Hank nodded and proceeded to the front of the classroom. Red usually cleaned the boards.
Once he started erasing, he realized he was too short to reach the top of the board. So he did what he could first, then he turned to scan the room for the stepstool. He couldn’t see it anywhere.
“Need the stepstool, Hank?” the priest asked.
For a minute, Hank wondered whether Fr. Tim was teasing him, but the priest would never do that. “Yes, sir.”
The priest picked up the stool from the closet and carried it to the front of the classroom. He placed it on the floor beside Hank. “There you go. All set.”
Hank got onto the stool and finished erasing the blackboard. He was about to step down when he felt a grip on his pant leg. Was that Fr. Tim’s hand? Every part of his body went still.
After what seemed like moments, the priest finally said, “Come on, I’ll help you down.”
Hank breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, F-Father.”
Hank moved the stool and climbed up to finish erasing the middle section of the blackboard when Fr. Tim’s hand again gripped Hank’s pant leg. This time, the priest held onto Hank’s legs with one hand on each leg. “Don’t want you to fall, Hank.”
Once Hank finished erasing that section, Fr. Tim assisted him down. Hank moved the stool to the far end of the board and stood up to erase the rest of the chalk writing. He felt weird about the priest holding onto his legs, so he quickly cleaned off the board.
When he was almost done, Hank felt Fr. Tim’s hand go from around his pants, up underneath his trousers and stroked his bare leg above his socks. Instinctively, he shook his leg free of the priest’s hand.
Fr. Tim cleared his throat. “Here you go, Hank. I’ll help you down.”
“Uh…what job can I do now, Father?” He tried to shake off the odd feeling, ready to move on.
“Let’s get you settled over here at this front desk, and you can put these files in alphabetical order.” The priest pointed. “Oh, and I’ve got Christmas chocolates on my desk. You’re welcome to take some if you’d like.”
“Sure.” Before Hank sat down, he took a healthy handful of Whitman’s sampler chocolates. He unwrapped one and wolfed it down.
While Hank worked on the alphabetizing, Fr. Tim acted normal, as if nothing had happened. Well, nothing had happened. The priest had simply put his hand on Hank’s leg. Sister Rose Bernadine had done worse when she slapped his leg with a ruler when he’d ignored the recess bell and remained in the schoolyard. It had stung like the dickens.
“You okay there, Hank?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
That night, Hank pulled the covers up and shivered. His bedclothes were cold.
He reflected on the day, his thoughts turning to Fr. Tim standing beside him while he was on the stool. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. But of course, the priest was just trying to keep Hank steady. What other reason could he have?
Fr. Tim was always putting his hand on Hank’s shoulder or back. Heck, he touched Hank more than his mother or father did most days.
Hank put his headphones on and turned the radio to the sports channel airing the Philadelphia Warriors against the Syracuse Nationals basketball game.He drifted off to sleep, dreaming of spring, hotdogs, and Phillies games.
Author interview:
Where Angels Pass is quite different from your most recent books. Why?
Where Angels Pass has actually been on my “To Write” shelf for at least 15 years. Any time I tried to sit down and write it, I couldn’t. This was a very difficult topic to write about because of what happened to my father.
When my father was a freshman in a Catholic high school in Philly, he was sexually assaulted by one of his teachers. He kept the secret his whole life and the only person he ever told was my mother. My father had a very troubled life after that and eventually wound up having a nervous breakdown the same day my youngest brother was born. Then he had to cope with the stigma of mental illness, eventually becoming an alcoholic and dying tragically when he was only in his 40s.
This summer, when I sat down to write, I started writing and didn’t stop until the book was complete (three weeks). I have never written a book in only three weeks, but every day, I just wrote and couldn’t stop. I’d stay up late to write another thousand words. I’d get up early to write. The only time I stopped writing was when I cried (which was frequent throughout the writing process) and I had to step away.
How much of this book is based on true events?
Most of the book is based loosely on true events. I changed names, of course, amalgamated characters and situations. The time period is different as well. Evie (based on me) is seven years younger than me. The story is told from the perspectives of both Evie (my character) and Hank (my father’s character).
One thing that is not true about the book is that I never met my father’s abuser. He was already dead when I found out about him. The book takes place between seven and ten years after the events in real life because I wanted the abuser to still be alive. In many respects, that chapter was very healing for me to write.
What do you hope the reader will take away from your story?
It’s my hope that the reader will be able to learn that just because a person has suffered clerical abuse (in this case, my father) does not mean his life had any less value than any other person. Did he make mistakes because of his woundedness? Of course, he did, because we’re all born with original sin and with free will.
And despite all these things that happened to him, he was really an incredible father and, I believe, made the world a better place (again, despite his nervous breakdown and alcoholism).
Most importantly, I hope the reader can understand that the Catholic Church is not an evil institution, and we should not leave the Church because of the sins of some of her members. One thing I didn’t realize until recently was how widespread the clerical abuse problem has been for many years. And while it saddened me that my father was abused, it breaks my heart that so many others suffered like my father.
Why did it take 15 years for you to be able to write this book?
I didn’t want to imagine what my father went through during his abuse and afterward. And while I wrote this book, I had to step away because I’d be crying, especially during the abuse chapters, the aftermath, his nervous breakdown, and his battle with alcoholism.
My father wasn’t the sum total of his faults. Instead, he was a unique image of God, who tried his darnedest to be a good husband, son, and father. However, his woundedness was like a snake that slithered all throughout everything he did, good or bad.
Why do you feel your extended family are also victims of clerical abuse?
Having a father who was abused by a priest directly contributed to my father having a mental breakdown and suffering from alcoholism. I believe that had my father never been abused, he probably would not have had a nervous breakdown and he may never have become an alcoholic. As the daughter of an alcoholic, I remember times when as a young teen, I was the parent figure and had to take him to bed or help him put clothes on. In some respects, having an alcoholic father makes a child grow up too quickly.
The Blog Tour:
December 3 Plot Line and Sinker
December 4 Jim Sano
December 6 Mary Jo Thayer
December 7 Carolyn Astfalk, My Scribbler’s Heart Blog
December 9 Victoria Ryan
December 10 Michael Seagriff
December 11 Patrice MacArthur
December 12 Amanda Lauer
December 13 Theresa Linden
December 14 Jeanie Egolf
About the author:
Ellen Gable is a coach, speaker, publisher, NFP teacher, book reviewer, transcriptionist, and instructor in the Theology of the Body for Teens. Her books have been collectively downloaded 750,000 times on Kindle. Some of her books have been translated into Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, and French. The mother of five adult sons and grandmother to one cherished grandson, Ellen (originally from New Jersey) now lives with her husband of nearly 40 years, James Hrkach, in Pakenham, Ontario, Canada.
Links:
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