When Laura Riccardi spent years as a Catholic chaplain holding the hands of the sick and dying, she could not have known those moments were preparing her for the most painful trial of her life. In her new memoir, A Thousand Hands But One: How GOD Prepared a CATHOLIC Chaplain For the Surrender She Never Expected, Riccardi recounts how rigid hospital protocols during the Covid-19 pandemic kept her from holding the hand of her own husband, Len, as he became gravely ill and died alone.
Published by A.J. Neal Publishing of Jackson, New Jersey, the book was released on September 8, 2026. It is available in paperback and ebook editions through major retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers. The memoir is distributed by A.J. Neal Publishing, an independent company founded by author Christopher Holl that focuses on distinctive stories across fiction, memoir, faith, and culture.
Riccardi's story is both heartbreaking and hope-filled. For years, she offered prayer, comfort, and Christ's presence to patients at their bedsides. Those encounters, she writes, quietly prepared her for what was to come in her own life. Together, they brought her face-to-face with the book's central spiritual lesson: surrender to God's will.
"This is a story of spousal love both on earth and as the Bride of Christ—a story for every soul seeking understanding of God's eternal plan, with lessons for us as a people and as a nation," said Cynthia Zack, composer and host of Mary, Mother and Queen of the Divine Will on Radio Maria.
A Benedictine monk and priest of more than 50 years who has known Riccardi for many years and asked to remain anonymous added, "A Thousand Hands But One is more than a memoir. It is a testimony to the grace of surrender—to trusting God when the path ahead is uncertain."
The book's message resonates beyond personal grief. It speaks to anyone who has faced loss, uncertainty, or the feeling that human hands have fallen away. Riccardi's witness offers a perspective on faith that may comfort readers navigating their own trials, while also contributing to a broader conversation about how society cares for the dying and supports the grieving.
Riccardi's background lends depth to her account. Her Catholic life and ministry include eighteen years of formation with the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, fifteen years as an RCIA catechist, seven years as a hospital chaplain, and five years cohosting Radio Maria's Mary, Mother and Queen of the Divine Will. She is also an award-winning former teacher, a mother of four, and a longtime homeschooling mom.
For those interested in learning more, the book's official website is https://www.athousandhandsbutone.com. More information about the publisher can be found at https://www.ajnealpublishing.com.
At its heart, A Thousand Hands But One bears witness to a simple yet profound message: Where human hands fall away, God's grace remains.
