MSI Press Blog

  A bit of a detour from the usual Cancer Diary posts, this week we are posting reviews about a well-liked but not widely known book about living with cancer (spoiler: it has a religious appeal): Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista. #1 Synopsis: Sula is a cat with a divine mission who has an uncanny ability to sense which parishioners at the California's San Juan Bautista Old Mission need her attention at any given Mass. But is it really uncanny, or does St. Francis give Sula tasks during her daily conversations with him? Or is she led by God? Sula has developed a special bond with cancer survivors like herself. The bond between her and the Old Mission parishioners saw her through two bouts of cancer, flooding her with gifts: money for surgery, a home for recovery, prayers, and love. In the pages of "Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story" is comprised of truly charming, heartwarming, ...

  photo by Studio Lovejoy In honor of Caturdy, we share the bio of MSI Press author and Old Mission San Juan Bautista parish car, Sula -- excerpted from her book, Tale of a Mission Cat : About Me and My Predecessors Did you know that every one of the Spanish Missions in California used to have a Mission cat? Some still do. I am one of them. My name is Sula, and I am the Mission cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista. If you come to the Mission, you can meet me. It seems that quite not of my own doing, I have nonetheless become rather famous of late. Rather than chasing mice (really, there are no mice at the Mission these days, just people, whom I love to comfort; that is, after all, my mission), I try to raise money to save the Mission, which desperately needs to be retrofitted against earthquakes—and to have the roof repaired so that my home, the Mission, does not leak in the rain. How I do that is by giving interviews, writing books, and putting my pawtograph on my books, inclu...

  Excerpt from Tale of a Mission Cat   by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission --      About Me and My Predecessors Did you know that every one of the Spanish Missions in California used to have a Mission cat? Some still do. I am one of them. My name is Sula, and I am the Mission cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista. If you come to the Mission, you can meet me. It seems that quite not of my own doing, I have nonetheless become rather famous of late. Rather than chasing mice (really, there are no mice at the Mission these days, just people, whom I love to comfort; that is, after all, my mission), I try to raise money to save the Mission, which desperately needs to be retrofitted against earthquakes—and to have the roof repaired so that my home, the Mission, does not leak in the rain. How I do that is by giving interviews, writing books, and putting my pawtograph on my books, including at special event book signings. I like my vocation: helping people at the Missio...

Sula checking her book inventory; photo by Stacey Gentry Here are some of the comments that readers have made about Sula books. Surviving Cancer, Healing People:  One Cat’s Story Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat’s Story is comprised of truly charming, heartwarming, endearing, and inspiring stories, shared by parishioners and told from the point of view of a lovable and amazingly insightful cat. [This] is one of those books that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after it is finished and set back upon the shelf. Heartwarming and thoughtful, Surviving Cancer, Healing People is a joy to browse and highly recommended. – Reviewers’ Choice/Small Press Bookwatch/Midwest Book Review Once you meet Sula through the pages of this book, you won’t soon forget her. While it’s Sula’s “meowmoir,” it’s also the story of those whose lives she’s impacted and an inside look at California’s Spanish mission. Whether you’re a religious person or not, the history is fascinati...

Hello, My name is Sula, and I am the parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista. My first book, Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story , came out a couple of years ago. I am very grateful for  everyone who read and reviewed my book. All five stars! That made me so happy. More recently I have written three more books, one after the other, on slightly different topics. Many people had written to me, especially om my Face Book page , and told me that they like my books, but no one has written reviews. Reviews really help to get the word out. So, if you would like to write a review in exchange for a free copy of one of my books, just contact my publisher: info@msipress.com . Here are the books that need to be reviewed: Christmas at the Mission: A Cat's View of Catholic Customs and Beliefs Sula the Cat does it again! Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, is a cat with a special mission: to comfort people in need. Every morning, she spends time ...

  Last year, I decided to “do something meaningful” for Lent. I gave up red meat—simple enough, I thought. A small sacrifice, a gesture of discipline, and certainly nothing dramatic. Except it was dramatic. Red meat also happens to be the most absorbable form of iron, something my 75‑year‑old body apparently relies on more than I realized. My iron levels had been excellent— very excellent—just a few weeks earlier at my annual checkup. Then Lent arrived, I dutifully avoided red meat, and by Easter I was seriously anemic. It took six months of iron pills to climb back to normal. When I told my doctor what I had done, he didn’t prescribe a new medication or order a battery of tests. He simply said, with the kind of dry understatement only a seasoned physician can deliver: “Try commonsense.” And honestly, that may be the best Lenten advice I’ve ever received. Lent isn’t supposed to break us. It isn’t a contest in self‑punishment or a test of how cleverly we can deprive oursel...