This Transfigured Chapel of the Threads

“Saints and the interface between the mystical and the human are at the heart of Sarah Law’s poetry. In This Transfigured Chapel of the Threads, she steps back from the documented life of Thérèse of Lisieux and picks up phrases and ideas—the threads of the title—from her writings, to underpin these imagistic and philosophical poems. ‘I write what I want to believe’ says both the poet and the ventriloquized saint, in this very human, lucid book of contemplative and intriguing poems.”

Rupert Loydell

“Written with Sarah Law’s usual precision and grace, these poems take us deep into the spiritual struggles and epiphanies of one of the greatest saints in modern history. Through recording the unseen moments, the unrecorded thoughts (always as fruit of long research and discernment), Law’s work brings us to a marvelous closeness with Thérèse. This is poetry of quiet and extraordinary power borne of great contemplation—and it stokes great contemplation in the reader.”

Sally Read

“Gentle. Tender. Lovely. Sarah Law skillfully takes the reader on a quiet journey, carefully and imaginatively unfolding a life honest in its humanity but devoted to the sublime. Each profound tale of contemplative grace and longing expertly provides a glimpse of the spiritual storm inside a cloistered saint. Through Thérèse, Law draws out beauty and the divine from everyday moments—often with questioning, but always returning to love’s restorative power. Read it slowly and with wonder.”

Veronica McDonald

“‘Here in my cell I am newly conceived,’ writes Sarah Law in this astonishing and absorbing meditation on the life of a beloved saint. Each poem offers a new insight on Thérèse’s experience, and the whole book is studded with bright imagery. Law is a writer of great imaginative empathy, which she balances with formal control—her brief, graceful poems land lightly as snowflakes. These poems invite a response of both heart and mind, and reading them is a remarkable pleasure.”

Kathryn Simmonds