The Story of Katie Luther

Gretchen Ronnevik

Reviewed by: Elianna Hsi

The Story of Katie Luther: The Nun Who Escaped to True Freedom, by Gretchen Ronnevik. Crossway, 2024. Paperback, 160 pages, $11.99. Reviewed by OP member Elianna Hsi (eighth grade).

The Story of Katie Luther is a biography of Katharina von Bora Luther. Author Gretchen Ronnevik covers the full history of Katie’s life. The biography begins with Katie’s childhood in Brehna, Germany, and continues with her life as a nun, her hearing the true message of the gospel, and her dramatic escape from a convent. At age twenty-six, she marries the Reformer Martin Luther, and we learn about their children, life at home, her husband’s death, war in Wittenberg, and finally, Katie’s own death, as well as her legacy.

The book’s greatest strength is that it is very engaging and easy to understand. It is best suited for young Christians, especially those ages nine to twelve, but with its charming illustrations, cool facts, maps, study questions, and timeline, anyone interested could read and be satisfied.

Before I read The Story of Katie Luther, I only knew that Katie was Martin Luther’s wife, and not much else. Through reading, I learned that her life as a nun was strict, tiring, and lonely. She was trying to earn God’s favor through her works and prayers, but nothing she could do could make her holy enough to earn God’s satisfaction. One day, through reading some of Martin Luther’s writings, likely including his Ninety-Five Theses, Katie learned that salvation and holiness is a gift from God. She discovered that it was the love and grace of God that saved her, and by this grace, she was freed and enabled to love and serve her neighbors. Katie decided to run away from her life as a nun after reading The Freedom of the Christian, in which Martin Luther told monks and nuns that if any of them had been forced against his or her will to take vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity, he or she was released from those vows. She fled the convent and embraced her freedom in Christ.

Studying church history is valuable for Christians. It allows us to learn about the development of the church and the many heresies that had to be fought along the way. It allows us to learn from the mistakes of earlier Christians, so we won’t repeat them. It helps us to better understand and defend the reasons for our beliefs. Most importantly, church history shows us how God has worked in the lives of his people through the Holy Spirit time and time again. Church history reminds us about the purpose of the church: to further the work of God’s kingdom and spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, this book is an excellent resource for learning about one of the many lives that influenced church history. Reading it will deepen your understanding of the gospel, as well as the lives of the nuns and monks living around the time of the Reformation.