Synopsis "Song of the Turtle"
Should a priest be held forever to a youthful pledge that forces him to deny an essential part of his human nature? Is it fair to him? Is it fair to Love itself?Jamie Quinn is a 38-year-old Jesuit priest who longs to serve the people of Latin America. He is a person of integrity, totally committed to the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience he has made to God. Sarah Caffaro is a Biblical scholar and quintessential child of the 1960s, with a loving family, good friends, and fulfilling work. While she would like to marry, she has not found someone she can commit to for a lifetime. Her beloved aunt Eugenia had personified for her how rich and fulfilling the single state can be.When Jamie and Sarah meet, love comes like a spiritual awakening in a form so powerful they cannot ignore it. Their intense, mystical connection leads them down unfamiliar emotional and spiritual byways neither had expected to travel.With humor, grace and struggle, these two seek to discover what manner of relationship a faithful priest and a woman who deeply love one another can create together. Not wanting to harm him, Sarah accepts the limitations imposed by his chosen vocation.When Jamie is called to El Salvador to serve those repeatedly traumatized by the brutal war in that small Central American country, he is compelled to become the most whole human being he can be, unafraid of vulnerability and deep connection and capable of bottomless compassion. This evolution parallels his growing desire to give himself to Sarah completely before leaving her for a place from which he might never return. Jamie knows he will need to draw on the power of their love as he accompanies and comforts the courageous people trapped in the agony of the Salvadoran war's cruelty.As the book unfolds, the reader is given an intimate entree to the struggles and spiritual beauty in the hearts and souls of a man and a woman who want above all else to do what is right, for themselves and their world. Hopefully, we see ourselves in them, no matter where our own life stories have brought us.This inspirational, romantic, and controversial love story should appeal to liberal Catholics and Christians, readers generally ignored by the world of Christian publishing, and will challenge the assumptions of those who have considered the issues the novel explores to be set in stone and unquestionable. What is at stake is Love itself.
