For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain Winner of the Scottish National First Book Awards 2023

Victoria MacKenzie introduces us to two very important historic female figures - Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe - both of whom not only claim to have visions of Christ, but also left behind written records. Julian of Norwich her 'Revelations of Divine Love' and Margery Kempe, while not written by her own hand, a work that is considered to be the first autobiography written in English. While the concept of having holy visions might seem very far away to us nowadays, MacKenzie gives both women a backstory and emotional depth in such a way that explains why, born out of grief, loneliness, postnatal depression and the overall frustrations of being a woman at a time where choices to shape one's own future were extremely limited, the presence of Jesus might have been a coping mechanism not too difficult to understand for a modern reader. The author does all that within less than 200 pages, which I found very impressive! This was a quick but impactful reading experience, which I recommend to anyone who's interested in female history.