Canterbury

The Bishop and I
Written by Eileen Carey with Andrew Carey
Hodder Stoughton
Price £7.99

by Sally Hastings
Bishops' Spouses Programme Communications

Eileen Carey, wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury, has interviewed 21 spouses of Anglican bishops from all over the world about what it is like to be married to a bishop. These interviews are published for the first time in the book The Bishop and I.

In her introduction to The Bishop and I, Eileen Carey talks about her own experience as the wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury and her reasons for writing this book. She says: "One of the most wonderful aspects of the work is the travel to many of the countries where there are Anglican congregations and to feel immediately at home with them."

Inspired by these meetings Mrs. Carey wanted to allow bishops' spouses to tell their own stories and provide their own insights into the Anglican Church around the world. The result is a series of profiles of some of the remarkable people whose skills, commitment and sheer hard work form the backbone of the Anglican Communion. Many run the Mothers' Unions in their home countries, some continue to work in their own professions, others work full time alongside their partners in their work of Christian ministry.

Profiles include those of Thelma Mehaffey, wife of James Mehaffey, Bishop of Derry and Raphoe in the Church of Ireland, and Jennie Chesters, wife of Alan Chesters, Bishop of Blackburn in the Church of England. There is also a moving account from Madeleine Kayumba, wife of Norman Kayumba, Bishop of Kigeme, Rwanda. The first man ever to be married to a female bishop in the Anglican Communion, Ian Jamieson, Bishop of Dunedin in New Zealand, has also contributed.

For more information and a review copy, please call Eleanor Goody at Hodder Stoughton, telephone: 0171 873 6044.