The need to read
Meet the Catholic mothers who aspire to grow in wisdom and virtue through books. They are the Well-Read Moms.
Meet the Catholic mothers who aspire to grow in wisdom and virtue through books. They are the Well-Read Moms.
Several years ago, I had to read The Odyssey for Well-Read Mom (WRM), my new Catholic women’s book club, writes Ana Bragg-Henebry. I was skeptical: everyone is familiar with Odysseus and the fantastical obstacles he must conquer to get back to faithful Penelope. One morning, tears ran down my face. The beautiful scene of Odysseus reuniting with his father swept over me in such a disarming way! I was so happy that WRM allowed me to experience that beauty. Since then, I have led WRM groups in three cities and co-founded a virtual Portuguese-speaking WRM group that spans time zones from Australia to Paraguay.
Several years ago, I had to read The Odyssey for Well-Read Mom (WRM), my new Catholic women’s book club, writes Ana Bragg-Henebry. I was skeptical: everyone is familiar with Odysseus and the fantastical obstacles he must conquer to get back to faithful Penelope. One morning, tears ran down my face. The beautiful scene of Odysseus reuniting with his father swept over me in such a disarming way! I was so happy that WRM allowed me to experience that beauty. Since then, I have led WRM groups in three cities and co-founded a virtual Portuguese-speaking WRM group that spans time zones from Australia to Paraguay.
WRM started in Minnesota in 2012. Founder Marcie Stockman, a mother of seven, was responding to a need she saw in women wanting to grow intellectually and spiritually. The theme for 2025/2026 is Teacher. Past themes include Mother, Daughter, Sister—they initially followed Saint John Paul II’s Letter to Women. We have read Dante, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Evelyn Waugh, and Dorothy Day’s biography of Saint Therese of Lisieux, among so many others.
Cathy Treadwell runs the Lansing area group that meets monthly at Saint Thomas Aquinas parish. We gather to discuss pre-selected books from September to June. An annual printed guide lists books, author biographies, and more. Contributing writers add a personal reflection to each title, along with a set of discussion questions from a Catholic perspective. Treadwell looks back at how her group began: “I had three little kids at home. I prayed for a community of women and connected with a Well-Read Mom online group. I loved it. I found one person who said she would join me, my parish agreed to host, and we had a dozen women join in. We will start our 10th year this fall!”
According to wellreadmom.com, the group has grown from just twenty women in 2012 to nearly 10,000 women in over 1,000 groups in 2025, across the U.S. and several countries. Lansing area member Erin Choi speaks of a benefit of WRM: “After I moved to Lansing, WRM played a critical role in helping me find a strong community of Catholic women with whom I have been able to delve more deeply into my faith through classic and contemporary literature.”
Treadwell continues: “Discussions are the heart of the group: a chance to connect with characters in the books and with the women who gather. We celebrated a lot of joys and sorrows together. We read significant books that dig deeply into themes that matter: life, death, sin, redemption, grief, joy, motherhood, growth, and love. We naturally touch on significant things that are worth exploring together, and so we share a special bond.”
Kristine Witkowski is a member who homeschools a special-needs child. “WRM has been a life-preserver being not only something ‘just for me’ but a much-needed monthly connection”, she says. “The number one reason I love book club," Kristine continues, “is that it is made up of women from so many different parishes. I cherish these women and the sense of Catholic community I feel with them.”
Member Anna Bloomfield explains how WRM has impacted her life: “Literature is life-giving. [Joining WRM] has made me a more content mother. It forced me to slow down, and it lengthened my attention span, which had grown accustomed to children’s books. By nursing the new baby with a book in my hands, I modeled reading to my children.”
Cathy Treadwell closes:
“Good literature and spiritual books are a window into the human heart. Exploring these things together with other women has helped me grow in love for God.”
Ana Braga-Henebry, M.A. is an author and lives in East Lansing. She and her husband Geoff have raised seven children, one a cloistered religious sister. Ana is a contributing writer for WRM.
