Finding Community through Great Books

In this episode, Katie talks with Marcie Stokman and Colleen Hutt, co-founders of Well-Read Mom, a nationwide book club for women seeking deeper friendships and meaningful conversations through great literature. Marcie and Colleen share how reading good books transformed their own lives, making them a better person, wife, and mother. In a culture increasingly shaped by constant screens and distractions, they argue that literature helps us recover the lost arts of thinking, reading, and speaking well.

For many women, finding time to read can feel impossible. Marcie offers a simple answer: read together. Through book clubs and shared conversations, women discover a space to wrestle with the questions that matter most—the joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, and challenges of everyday life. These friendships provide the connection, encouragement, and sense of belonging that every person longs for.

Marcie and Colleen also explain the Well-Read Mom four-step process:

• Read: Let go of the guilt and simply begin.
• Compare: Connect the themes of the book to your own life.
• Share: Engage in authentic conversations with others, ideally face-to-face.
• Accompany: Support one another through life's struggles with compassion and confidentiality.

Three Takeaways:

• Reading fosters friendship, and friendship inspires us to keep reading.
• Every person has a deep desire to be seen, known, loved, and connected in authentic community.
• The Well-Read Mom four-step process offers a practical path to deeper relationships and a richer intellectual and spiritual life.

Marcie Stokman is a writer, speaker, and the president and founder of Well-Read Mom, an organization that accompanies women in the reading of great books and spiritual classics. She is co-author of The Well-Read Life.

Colleen Hutt is the director of vision and outreach for Well-Read Mom. She has worked as a director of children and adult formation in several parishes in Florida and Wisconsin. She is a catechist, a FOCCUS facilitator for marriage prep, and a retreat leader. She is co-author of The Well-Read Life.