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James Carroll has been extending his life story and his critique of the Catholic Church in tandem for a generation. The Truth at the Heart of the Lie brings that turbulent dialogue to a moving and gripping conclusion, a repentant Catholic’s manifesto and culminating apologia pro vita sua. Prepare to race through it at one sitting -- and then live with it.
— Jack Miles, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of God: A Biography
A deeply personal exploration of what has broken the modern Catholic Church...detailed, honest, and brutal...consistently captivating...[a] moving, forthright autobiography and searing critique…an urgent call to action. (Read full review)
— Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
James Carroll’s latest book is grounded in deep familiarity with the history of the Catholic Church, his experience as a faithful Catholic, and his own ever-perceptive mind. Though a wrenching and honest confrontation with the dismaying recent history of the Church, the book can and should be read also as a cautious, wise and real word of hope. A disturbing, moving, and important book from one of the keenest interpreters of contemporary Catholicism.
— Kevin Madigan, Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Harvard University
This persuasive, provocative book will be a must read. (Read full review)
— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
James Carroll's new book, The Truth at the Heart of the Lie, is an amazing account of the author's life-long adventure of faith, full of candor and pain about one man's encounter with the peculiar blessings and severe limitations of Catholic Christianity. Here the reader will come to know a man of such intellectual breadth and astonishing self-honesty as one almost never encounters in contemporary literature.
— Thomas Cahill, author of How the Irish Saved Civilization
In The Truth at the Heart of the Lie James Carroll bares his Catholic soul - and the soul of his Church…Carroll peers, with undaunted courage, into the shadows of deceit and corruption that have shaken his soul's confidence. In that darkness, he discovers the truth hidden in the human failings, sins, and betrayals of his Church’s bishops and priests. The Catholic priesthood and the Catholic Church are at a tipping point. This gripping memoir of faith, bringing us to our knees, might well move us over the edge.
—Rev. Donald Cozzens, former Rector of the Catholic Seminary in Cleveland and author of Notes from the Underground
James Carroll has written a courageous and inspiring account of his original commitment to and subsequent disillusion with the Catholic Church...Our only hope is to have the courage to imagine a future that returns to the spirit of equity, love and compassion that is fundamental to the true teaching not only of the Catholic Church but which lies at the heart of all the great world religions.
— Karen Armstrong, author of The Case for God