As Christians, we know we have not been promised an easy, carefree life. And yet we resist suffering at every turn, despite Jesus’ clear and direct conditions if we want to be his disciples. The truth is most of us find the cross bitter. We’d rather not have to carry it, and we wonder why God demands it of us. In Sweet Cross: A Marian Guide to Suffering, Laura Phelps reveals not only why suffering is a necessary part of our Christian life, but how we can learn to carry our cross without fear or complaint — and even to find that it is sweet. The secret is Mary.