Mother Teresa: Beyond the Image - Softcover
Mother Teresa of Calcutta--few figures in the twentieth century have received such adulation. This diminutive Albanian nun was frequently cited as the living embodiment of Christian kindness, received the Nobel Peace Prize, and was hailed as a living saint. Yet the respect she received was not unanimous, and toward the end of her life serious, measured criticisms were directed at this modern icon, who had once seemed beyond reproach. In her fascinating work, Anne Sebba looks carefully at all these views, giving the only objective account of Mother Teresa's life and work.
The first half of the book follows the life of young Agnes Bojaxhiu, from her childhood in Serbian-dominated Skopje, to her decision to join the religious life, to her arrival in India during the British Raj. In the second half, Anne Sebba examines the many difficult issues surrounding Mother Teresa's work: her attitudes toward abortion and rape, her association with dictators such as the Duvaliers in Haiti, her medical practices, and her fund-raising ethics. Alongside these aspects, Anne Sebba also highlights Mother Teresa's dedication to the sick, dying, and destitute, and looks at the motivation that drove this remarkable woman. Hers was an extraordinary life, full of paradox. She was a woman of enormous courage, love, and determination, and her legacy poses some of the most profound questions of our age.
The first half of the book follows the life of young Agnes Bojaxhiu, from her childhood in Serbian-dominated Skopje, to her decision to join the religious life, to her arrival in India during the British Raj. In the second half, Anne Sebba examines the many difficult issues surrounding Mother Teresa's work: her attitudes toward abortion and rape, her association with dictators such as the Duvaliers in Haiti, her medical practices, and her fund-raising ethics. Alongside these aspects, Anne Sebba also highlights Mother Teresa's dedication to the sick, dying, and destitute, and looks at the motivation that drove this remarkable woman. Hers was an extraordinary life, full of paradox. She was a woman of enormous courage, love, and determination, and her legacy poses some of the most profound questions of our age.
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Review:
Neither hatchet job nor hagiography, this biography of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was completed before Mother Teresa's death in September 1997. It includes a chronological account of Albanian-born Agnes Bojaxhiu's early years before she founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1947. But it focuses primarily on "compelling issues which arise from her work," including a judicious evaluation of charges that Mother Teresa accepted money from dictators and that her order sometimes provided inadequate medical treatment. Anne Sebba also probes with perception the social forces underpinning Mother Teresa's lionization in the West. This is an exceptionally well-balanced assessment of Calcutta's "saint of the gutters."
From the Publisher:
Mother Teresa of Calcutta--no figure alive today has received the adulation that she has, and she is frequently cited as the living embodiment of Christian kindness. Recipient of numerous humanitarian awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, she had been characterized as a living saint and commands unrivaled international attention, even at the highest levels. Yet the respect she has received has not been unanimous, and since 1990 serious criticisms have been directed at this modern icon, who had once seemed beyond reproach.
In this fascinating biography Anne Sebba reveals the truth behind Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity. She considers her attitudes toward abortion (women who have had abortions are hailed as murderers), rape (women who have been raped are given no help in terminating their pregnancy), her association with dictators such as the Duvaliers in Haiti, her medical negligence (inadequate use of painkillers, reuse of unsterilized needles), her ethics (she accepted hundreds of thousands of stolen dollars from S&L financier Charles Keating).
Alongside these unflattering aspects, this work also considers the highlights of her dedication to the sick, dying and destitute, and looks at the motivation that drives Mother Teresa. Hers is an extraordinary life, full of paradox. She has enormous courage, love and determination, and her work poses some of the most profound questions of our age.
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- PublisherDiane Pub Co
- Publication date1997
- ISBN 10 0756751020
- ISBN 13 9780756751029
- BindingPaperback
- Rating
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