Book Review: From the Hub to the Heart


I am pleased to participate in Andy LaVallee’s book-launch blog tour, hosted by Ellen Gable Hrkach of Full Quiver Publishing. 

Entrepreneur Andrew LaValee was living in the fast lane and had no strong desire to return to his Catholic faith. After all, why should someone who is worldly successful and who has achieved nearly all his goals in life, go searching for something he is not particularly interested in finding?

In From the Hub to the Heart, Andy LaValee and Leticia Velasquez share his captivating conversion story. He grew up in a tough neighborhood in Boston and spent most of his adult life drinking, gambling, and swearing. Then, one day, he met Jim Cavaziel (the actor who portrayed Jesus in The Passion of the Christ), who dared Andy to visit Medjugorje, a poor, obscure village in Croatia, where it has been alleged that the Blessed Virgin Mary has been appearing for the past thirty years. His initial reaction to this challenge was, “No way am I going to fly fifteen hours to pray a Rosary!” However, he eventually felt compelled to make that trip to Medjugorje to pray that Rosary and to make a journey unlike any that he had ever experienced before in his life.

The power of the Holy Spirit and the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in opening up Andy’s heart to accepting God’s grace, mercy, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are important themes in this book. This is evidenced by the summary at the end of each of the chapter which describes the gift of the Holy Spirit that Andy has been blessed with as a result of his experiences as well as the apostolic work which he is now doing for the Lord.

Andy tells his story in a very heartfelt, personal way, as if he were conversing with a close friend over coffee. His spiritual memoirs will pique the reader’s interest and sustain it. From the Hub to the Heart is a quick, easy, moving read that will inspire you and encourage you in your faith walk, wherever you happen to be on your journey. I believe that this book is particularly suited for fallen-away Catholics or those who are lukewarm in their faith. It will revive and renew their spirit and fan the flame into fire. From the Hub to the Heart is a book I highly recommend.

From the Hub to the Heart is available on Kindle for $3.99; the paperback is available from LaVallee’s site, Live the Fast, for $14.99.

~ copyright Jean M. Heimann February 2015
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