Press Release
In 1981, a simple nun, using merely her entrepreneurial instincts and $200, launched what would become the world’s largest religious media empire in the garage of a Birmingham, Alabama, monastery. Under her guidance, the Eternal Word Television Network grew at a staggering pace, both in viewership and in influence, to where it now reaches over a hundred million viewers in hundreds of countries around the globe.
Raymond Arroyo combines his journalist’s objectivity and eye for detail with more than five years of exclusive interviews with Mother Angelica. He traces Mother Angelica’s tortured rise to success and exposes for the first time the fierce opposition she faced, both outside and inside of her church.
Raymond Arroyo is an internationally known, award-winning journalist, producer, and New York Times Bestselling author. As news director and lead anchor for EWTN, he is seen in more than 150 million homes on six continents each week. Mr. Arroyo established EWTNews in 1996, creating several programs including "The World Over Live" which he hosts from Washington DC before a live studio audience. The program was named "Best Religious Show or Series in Cable Television for 2009" by CableFAX Magazine.
Known for his penetrating interviews, Mr. Arroyo has interrogated the leading figures of the day. Highlights include: The first exclusive, sit down interview with Mel Gibson about his film, "The Passion of the Christ"; Carroll O'Connor's final broadcast interview; Mother Teresa of Calcutta; Placido Domingo; President George W. Bush, several heads of state, and the first and only English interview with Pope Benedict XVI.
Mr. Arroyo has served as a Capitol Hill Correspondent, a reporter for the political columnist team of Evans and Novak, and worked for the Associated Press and The New York Observer.
A graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Arroyo was mentored by some of the finest acting instructors in the world, among them: Stella Adler, Bobby Lewis, Uta Hagen, and Beatrice Straight.
In addition to his work at EWTN, Mr. Arroyo has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN Headline News, Access Hollywood, Capitol Gang, The O'Reilly Factor, Countdown, and is a regular contributor to The Laura Ingraham Show. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, The Financial Times, Newsweek, Time Magazine, The New Yorker, National Review, and elsewhere.
He is producer of the bestselling, all-star "Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible" (Zondervan), "The Word of Promise" (Thomas Nelson), and a Billboard chart topping PBS Christmas special, "The Birth of Christ"(Sony Classics) hosted by Liam Neeson. His books: "Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles" (Doubleday), "Mother Angelica's Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality" (Doubleday) and "Mother Angelica's Private and Pithy Lessons from the Scriptures" (Doubleday) and "The Prayers and Personal Devotions of Mother Angelica" have all been New York Times Bestsellers. The New Orleans native is currently working on a children's series, a mystery series, and an original musical. Mr. Arroyo resides in Northern Virginia with his wife Rebecca and their three children.
Review notes from Mary-Get ready to be engaged before the completion of the introduction. Arroyo is an incredibly gifted author that is to Mother Angelica what Christopher Andersen and Andrew Morton are to notable leaders, celebrities and royalty. Five years and many gruelling interview sessions later, Mother Angelica reads as a novel, with a flawless presentation that would make the notable nun proud. Unfortunately she suffered a stroke in 2001, coincidentally a few short months following the perceived end of Arroyo's assignment, making his interview the last on record. If she has been able to sample the finished product, she would relish in the fact that Arroyo followed through with her one and only instruction regarding the writing of her biography. "Make sure you present the real me. There is nothing worse than a book that sugarcoats the truth and ducks the humanity of the person. I wish you forty years in purgatory if you do that."
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Image (May 15, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385510934
ISBN-13: 978-0385510936
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
