LIT is Mary Karr’s best-selling memoir of her descent into the hell of alcoholism, and fighting her way to resurrection, as a mom, a writer, and a human being. She writes with unflinching self-scrutiny, irreverent humor, and the insight that comes only from facing one’s mistakes with honesty and determination.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the Easter festivities of this week, but resurrection comes with a cost,” says Father Jerry. “The seed must die in the ground. The cross must be taken up. The self must be emptied of ego.”

In other words, as Mary Karr writes, “We must enter the hell of discerning what Easter means, the hell of changing our perspective to become witnesses of the resurrection, and the hell of trying to roll away the stones that seal our tombs.”