Book Description

Every person has her secrets. If Katie can forgive her mother and herself for theirs, readers of this book can certainly find it in their hearts to forgive their own transgressions. This deeply affecting memoir by a Catholic schoolgirl during the 1960s shares her inspiring journey from an abusive childhood with a schizophrenic mother to an adulthood of redemptive love. My Mother Killed Christ: But God Loves Me Anyway is a triumphant memoir detailing the life of Katie Murphy, a 1960s Catholic School girl struggling to keep the faith acquired at school in a home ruled by a mentally ill mother who believed she killed Jesus Christ. This life story is not divided into years, but into episodes capturing her family's chaos, created by an absentee father and a mother frequently committed to a mental hospital. She and her four siblings are forced to shoplift food, toiletries and clothing to survive. Meanwhile, Katie's misguided search for parental love leads to an ongoing affair with a priest in high school, marriage to a man twice her age in college, and a twelve year affair with a married man in adulthood. She finally learns the truth about her childhood. Successful, safe and loved today, she lifts the veil of self-blame and anger to trace a path to true forgiveness. The author shares poignant proof that, with conviction, compassion, and truth, even the most damaging past can be transformed into a peaceful and meaningful present.