"A hugely important, beautifully written book. "Between Heaven and Earth" is vintage Orsi, the work of our leading historian of twentieth-century American Catholicism at the top of his game."--Richard Wightman Fox, University of Southern California, author of "Jesus in America: Personal Savior, Cultural Hero, National Obsession" "A stunning contribution to the field. Not only does this book creatively transcend the old maxim about religion being about the construction of meaning, but it also radically undercuts scholars who disparage the 'superstitious' worlds of their subjects. Moreover, in a dizzying, personal narrative Orsi takes us into the hidden places of his own and his family's soul and spirit--with surgical precision that excises pain to make it available for methodological scrutiny. What is so refreshing about reading Orsi's work is that it genuinely is literature: it is religious studies as an art form, highly disciplined, superbly executed, gripping in presentation. This is a book that holds the reader."--Catherine L. Albanese, University of California, Santa Barbara, author of "America: Religions and Religion" "Robert Orsi's "Between Heaven and Earth" is yet another one of his masterful scholarly achievements in the study of the history of Catholicism in America. I cannot think of anyone writing in the area who has the depth, intellect, creativity, and knowledge of Orsi."--Gary M. Laderman, Emory University, author of "Rest in Peace: A Cultural History of Death and the Funeral Home in Twentieth-Century America" "Orsi has not written a memoir, per se, but has rather found in his own family a rich archive, full of religious experiences that tell stories about theextraordinary meanings ordinary people create in their lives."--"Publishers Weekly" "Religion is 'not benign, ' Orsi warns, but is as richly ambiguous, as fraught with complexity, contradiction and tragedy as the lives of its adherents. By its very nature, religion deals with our deepest longings and most bitter frustrations, especially concerning our relationships with others. As a consequence, he argues, it cannot be studied in a merely 'scientific' or 'objective' way."--Paul Baumann, "Chicago Tribune"

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION: Jesus Held Him So Close in His Love for Him That He Left the Marks of His Passion on His Body
CHAPTER ONE: "Mildred, Is It Fun to Be a Cripple?"The Culture of Suffering in Mid-Twentieth Century American Catholicism
CHAPTER TWO: The Many Names of the Mother of God
CHAPTER THREE: Material Children: Making God's Presence Real for Catholic Boys and Girls and for the Adults in Relation to Them
CHAPTER FOUR: Two Aspects of One Life: Saint Gemma Galgani and My Grandmother in the Wound between Devotion and History, the Natural and the Supernatural
CHAPTER FIVE: "Have You Ever Prayed to Saint Jude?" Reflections on Fieldwork in Catholic Chicago
CHAPTER SIX: Snakes Alive: Religious Studies between Heaven and Earth
NOTES
INDEX