Quick Answer Stealing Faith is a psychologically rich, character-driven literary novel that examines the intense, double-edged mentor-mentee relationship between a young, troubled aspiring writer named Allegra Gordon and Faith Hale, a renowned feminist literary icon. Set primarily in the 1970s at a New York college and spanning into the early 2000s, the book explores themes of creativity, friendship, power imbalances, mental health, grief, and the personal cost of ambition and fame. Through sharp, surprising prose, Leora Skolkin-Smith delivers a cinematic yet intimate portrait of two complex women whose bond is both liberating and shattering. At just 192 pages, it prioritizes emotional and intellectual depth over sweeping plot, making it ideal for readers who value nuanced explorations of women’s inner lives and the literary world. It draws inspiration from real-life literary mentorships (notably the author’s own with Grace Paley) while remaining fully fictional. Expect raw honesty about the challenges of becoming one’s truest self amid societal pressures, illness, and shifting cultural tides.
If you’re drawn to thoughtful women’s fiction, stories of creative ambition, or reflections on how relationships shape (and sometimes steal) our sense of faith in ourselves and others, this novel offers substantial rewards—though its introspective pace and heavy themes may not suit those seeking light escapism or fast-paced action.
Introduction: Why Literary Mentorship Stories Still Captivate Us
The relationship between a mentor and a protégé has long fascinated writers and readers. Think of the magnetic pull, the transfer of wisdom (or illusion), the inevitable power struggles, and the question of what remains when the guiding figure steps back or passes on. Leora Skolkin-Smith’s Stealing Faith (The Story Plant, 2024) takes this archetype and infuses it with the specific textures of 1970s American feminism, academic life, and the gritty realities of becoming a woman writer in a male-dominated literary landscape.
The novel doesn’t romanticize mentorship. Instead, it presents it as a force that can “wrench the best work” from someone while also threatening to shatter them. Allegra Gordon arrives at Abigail Stone College knowing she has much to learn from Faith Hale, the esteemed feminist icon and writer. What unfolds is a relationship that changes both women profoundly—across political rallies, personal betrayals, creative triumphs, and quiet reckonings in settings ranging from a Maine cottage to a Vermont farmhouse.
This is not a conventional “inspirational mentor story.” It is something rarer: an honest reckoning with how we borrow, internalize, or lose pieces of ourselves in intense creative and personal bonds. For American readers interested in the legacy of second-wave feminism, the psychology of ambition, or simply beautifully observed character studies, Stealing Faith delivers.
The Author Behind the Story: Leora Skolkin-Smith’s Literary Journey
Leora Skolkin-Smith brings authentic authority to this material. Born in Manhattan in 1952, she spent her childhood between Pound Ridge, New York, and Israel, traveling regularly to her mother’s birthplace in Jerusalem. This bicultural experience likely informs her sensitivity to identity, belonging, and the search for voice that runs through her work.
She earned her BA and MFA from Sarah Lawrence College and received a teaching fellowship. Her debut novel, Edges: O Israel, O Palestine (2005), was selected and edited by the legendary Grace Paley for Paley’s own imprint at Glad Day Books. It was nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award by Paley herself and later adapted into a feature film in pre-production. Her second novel, Hystera, won a Global E-book Award and earned other nominations.
Stealing Faith is her third novel, published in 2024 (with some sources noting 2023 for certain formats). Skolkin-Smith has spoken openly in interviews about the long gestation of her books—sometimes decades—and how personal experience shapes her fiction without turning it into autobiography. She studied with Susan Sontag as well as Paley, giving her intimate knowledge of the intellectual and creative circles she depicts.
Critics and readers note that her prose blends sharp observation with emotional rawness. Her background as both insider (mentored by giants) and observer lends Stealing Faith a convincing authenticity, even as the characters remain invented.
Historical and Literary Context: The 1970s as Crucible
The novel’s primary timeline—the early 1970s—places it squarely in the heart of second-wave feminism, campus activism, and a shifting literary culture. Women’s studies programs were emerging. Writers like Grace Paley combined literary excellence with political engagement. The publishing world remained largely male-dominated at the top, even as feminist voices gained ground.
Skolkin-Smith captures the era’s contradictions: the heady promise of liberation alongside the persistent realities of sexism, competition, and personal cost. Political rallies, consciousness-raising, and the push for women’s voices in academia and literature form the backdrop. Yet the story never feels like a history lesson. It uses the period to illuminate timeless questions about power, voice, and what it means to “lay one’s soul bare” in art and relationships.
The span to the early 2000s allows reflection on legacy—what survives of youthful ideals, how fame and illness reshape people, and how later generations reckon with the mentors who shaped them.
Spoiler-Light Plot Overview
Allegra Gordon, a young woman carrying her own troubles and ambitions, encounters Faith Hale, the celebrated writer and feminist figure, on the campus of Abigail Stone College. From their first meeting, Allegra senses that Faith will be a defining force—pushing her toward her best work while exposing vulnerabilities.
Their relationship evolves across decades and locations: from the charged atmosphere of 1970s New York activism to intimate retreats in Maine and Vermont. It encompasses confidences shared and betrayed, liberties taken, freedoms claimed or denied. The bond is at once impossible and strangely eternal, forcing both women to confront who they are becoming—and what they might have to give up.
The narrative moves fluidly through time, revealing how early intensities echo into later life. Without relying on dramatic external plot twists, it builds power through psychological insight and the accumulating weight of choices, betrayals, and quiet revelations.
Character Deep Dive: Allegra and Faith
Allegra Gordon emerges as a compelling, flawed protagonist. She is ambitious yet fragile, hungry for validation and artistic growth, yet carrying inner struggles that make her vulnerable to the gravitational pull of a powerful mentor. Readers will recognize the universal ache for someone to see one’s potential and “wrench the best work” from it. Her journey involves learning to separate admiration from dependency and to claim her own voice.
Faith Hale is no saintly guide. She is brilliant, magnetic, flawed, and at times needy. As a feminist icon, she embodies ideals of strength and independence, yet the novel humanizes her through illness, the pressures of fame, and her own dependencies. One perceptive blurb describes the dynamic perfectly: “What does it mean to be mentored by a genius who it turns out needs you as much as you need her?”
Their relationship avoids easy labels. It contains genuine care and mutual impact alongside power imbalances, projection, and the inevitable disappointments when real humans replace idealized images. The “stealing” in the title resonates here—perhaps the taking of emotional energy, creative inspiration, or even a piece of one’s faith in self or others.
Supporting characters and settings enrich the portrait without overshadowing the central duo. The prose excels at rendering internal landscapes as vividly as external ones.
Core Themes: Where the Novel Shines Brightest
Mentorship as Liberation and Shattering The book’s greatest strength lies in its refusal to simplify this relationship. It shows how a great mentor can catalyze growth while also risking enmeshment or disillusionment. Allegra must eventually decide what belongs to her and what she borrowed (or had taken).
Feminism, Power, and the Literary World Through Faith and the academic/literary milieu, Skolkin-Smith examines both the gains of feminism and its internal complexities. The novel acknowledges sexism in publishing and academia while also portraying women’s own capacities for competition, idealization, and harm within feminist spaces. It feels honest rather than didactic.
Creativity, Authenticity, and “Stealing Faith” What does it mean to find—or lose—one’s authentic voice? The title invites multiple interpretations: the faith one places in a mentor or movement; the way intense relationships can rob or reshape one’s belief in oneself; the quiet appropriations of identity and vision that occur in creative partnerships. The novel doesn’t hand the reader a single answer but invites reflection.
Illness, Grief, Mental Health, and Art Mental health and physical/emotional illness thread through the story with sensitivity and realism. The book portrays how these experiences intersect with creativity and relationships—neither romanticizing suffering nor minimizing its weight. Readers navigating similar themes should be aware of the emotional intensity.
Time, Legacy, and Becoming One’s Truest Self By spanning decades, the novel asks what endures. How do early bonds shape later selves? What does it mean to help (or fail to help) someone become who they truly are?
These themes interweave without feeling forced, giving the short novel surprising density and reread value.
Literary Craft and Style
Skolkin-Smith’s prose earns consistent praise for being “sharp and often surprising.” It balances lyrical description with psychological precision. The cinematic quality noted by reviewers comes from vivid scene-setting and emotional clarity rather than flashy technique.
Time shifts are handled gracefully, allowing the reader to feel the weight of years without confusion. The narrative voice maintains intimacy with Allegra while offering enough distance for insight. Compared to the author’s earlier works, Stealing Faith feels particularly focused on interiority and relational dynamics.
Minor critiques: Some readers may wish for more secondary character development or a slightly longer exploration of certain later-life threads. The introspective focus rewards patient readers but may frustrate those preferring plot-heavy stories.
Reception and Balanced Assessment
Early reception has been strongly positive among literary readers and critics who appreciate character depth. Caroline Leavitt (New York Times bestselling author) called it “extraordinarily moving” and a “cinematic page-turner.” BookLife praised its “raw and gripping” quality and complex female characters. Kirkus highlighted the sharp prose.
As a smaller-press title, it has not yet achieved widespread mainstream buzz, and reader reviews remain limited in number (though highly rated where they exist). This is both a limitation and an opportunity: it feels like a discovery rather than an overhyped bestseller.
Strengths: Emotional authenticity, thematic richness, complex women characters, precise prose, meaningful engagement with feminism and creativity without preachiness. Considerations: Heavy themes (mental health, grief, power dynamics) require emotional readiness. The pace is reflective rather than propulsive. Some plot threads resolve more quietly than dramatically.
Overall, it succeeds powerfully on its own terms as serious literary fiction.
Why “Stealing Faith” Matters in 2026 and Beyond
In an era of renewed conversations about boundaries in creative and professional relationships, the #MeToo reckoning’s long aftermath, and ongoing discussions about mental health in high-achieving environments, this novel feels timely. It offers no easy answers but models the kind of honest self-examination that genuine growth requires.
For aspiring writers, it provides a nuanced look at the writing life’s emotional realities. For book clubs and general readers, it sparks rich discussion about influence, authenticity, and the relationships that form us. For anyone who has ever idolized a mentor or struggled to separate their voice from those who shaped them, Allegra and Faith’s story resonates deeply.
Conclusion: A Novel That Rewards Close Reading
Stealing Faith is not a book that shouts for attention. It earns it through precision, emotional honesty, and the courage to portray complicated women and relationships without easy resolution. In Allegra and Faith, Leora Skolkin-Smith has created characters who feel fully alive—flawed, striving, wounded, and capable of profound impact on each other.
For readers who cherish literary fiction that illuminates the inner life and the subtle negotiations of power and care in creative bonds, this novel is a significant achievement. It lingers after the final page, prompting reflection on the mentors who shaped us, the faith we place in others and ourselves, and what it truly costs—and what it truly gives—to become who we are meant to be.
If you value depth over speed and complexity over comfort, pick up Stealing Faith. You may find pieces of your own story reflected back in unexpected ways.
FAQs About Stealing Faith
Is Stealing Faith based on a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction. However, it draws clear inspiration from Leora Skolkin-Smith’s own experiences in the literary world and her significant mentorship under Grace Paley, who edited and published her first novel. Faith Hale contains elements reminiscent of Paley but is a fully invented character.
What does the title “Stealing Faith” mean?
The title is open to interpretation and likely intentional in its ambiguity. It can refer to the way intense relationships cause people to “steal” aspects of each other’s identity, belief in self, or creative vision—sometimes generously, sometimes at a cost. It also evokes the loss or transformation of naive faith in mentors, movements, or one’s own invulnerability.
Does the book deal with mental health and illness?
Yes, these are central themes, portrayed with psychological realism and sensitivity. Readers who are sensitive to depictions of mental health struggles, grief, or emotional distress should approach with awareness. The novel treats these experiences as part of complex human lives rather than sensationalizing them.
How does it compare to the author’s other books like Edges or Hystera?
Stealing Faith shares Skolkin-Smith’s interest in identity, relationships, and inner conflict but focuses more tightly on a single intense mentorship dynamic across time. It continues her exploration of women navigating personal and creative challenges.
Is this a good book club pick?
Excellent for serious book clubs. Strong discussion topics include the ethics of mentorship, feminism’s promises versus realities, the psychology of ambition, and what “stealing faith” means in readers’ own lives. The emotional depth rewards group conversation.
Will there be spoilers if I look up more information?
As with any literary novel, major plot points and the ending are best discovered by reading. Reviews and this analysis avoid major spoilers.
Where can I buy or learn more?
Available in hardcover and ebook formats from major retailers and independent bookstores. Check The Story Plant’s site or your local library. Author interviews and discussions of her earlier work provide additional context.
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