Body of Christ

As the director of literary evangelization for Well-Read Mom, Colleen Hutt helps women encounter the good, the true and the beautiful in their daily lives through the power of good storytelling and meaningful community. “I have the best job in the world,” she said. “I get to tell people how stories can change their life.”

  • A graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s Program of Liberal Studies (Great Books), she has a professional background in religious education, adult formation and parish ministry.
  • She grew up in Wauwatosa and Brookfield, eventually settling in Whitefish Bay with her husband, Colin, and their five children. The Hutts are members of St. Jerome Parish in Oconomowoc.
  • In her free time, Hutt enjoys paddleboarding, hiking, music and writing poetry.
  • Along with Marcie Stokman, she is the author of “The Well-Read Life: Nourish Your Soul through Deep Reading and Intentional Friendship,” released last year by Ave Maria Press.

What does your job title, “director of literary evangelization,” mean?

I get to tell people how stories can change their life. I have had this experience myself many times of reading something that completely changes the way that you interact with a spouse, or a child or yourself. As Christians, we know this. Jesus spoke in stories. There’s something about a story that is different.

How so?

A story says something you can’t say in any other way. When Jesus speaks in parables, he isn’t pointing a finger at you or giving a lecture. He’s inviting you to participate in the narrative. All that is needed is faith and imagination. The action comes from you. You decide if you are going to accept the invitation to be changed. My main job is talking about the power of stories to transform your heart — and, I would say, the need for leisure, to stop and think and pray, to worship, to reflect, to be transformed.

We have many active Well-Read Mom groups here in the Milwaukee area. Where and when was it started?

Marcie Stokman founded Well-Read Mom 13 years ago in Crosby, Minnesota. At the time, the last of her seven children was still at home, so she was on the precipice of empty nesting, and one of her daughters, Beth, was beginning her journey as a mom. Beth was frustrated with the mother’s groups in her area and desired a place to talk about the “real questions” of life.

Marcie’s desire, with her kids were leaving the nest, was to read better literature, to really make time for leisure. They decided to get two groups going, one in the Twin Cities where Beth lives and one in Crosby, about three hours north, to commit to reading good books together for five years. By the end of the first year, 25 Well-Read Mom groups had started from this. It just exploded.

Any woman can join Well-Read Mom, so why does the name specifically emphasize motherhood?

We understand motherhood in a very broad and general sense, and I think what Marcie is trying to communicate with the title is that this started out of a need and an experience she had in motherhood. It started with a real cry. Mothers, also, are probably the most underserved people, in a sense — if you don’t have a career, there’s a way that you can doubt yourself. Am I smart enough to read these books? Am I good enough to do this? And what we want to say is that, as a mom, you are filling an essential role in the culture by mothering, by nurturing. But the woman has to take care of her own heart first, and then it flows out to other people.

Has your Catholic faith always been a big part of your life?

My parents, Tom and Ann Wamser, are extraordinary examples of living the faith, especially through stewardship. That was something really important to our family. In my later high school years and when I went to Notre Dame, the Church and its vast tradition really opened up to me. I saw this 2,000-year tradition of the Church, and it just answered every question for me of what it is to be human, and what my life is for: seeking the good, the true, and the beautiful.

What are some of your favorite books?

Outside of the Bible, I would say “The Brothers Karamazov” for sure. I love Dante’s “Divine Comedy.” I would also say “Frankenstein,” which is kind of a funny choice, but I think it really speaks to the need right now of knowing what it means to be human, the question of who has the power to create, and what happens when we step into a role through technology that’s not given to us naturally.

What books are on your reading list?

I’ve never read “Don Quixote” in its entirety, so that would be a big one for me. I would love to read “Memento Mori” by Muriel Spark and “He Leadeth Me” by Walter Ciszek, S.J.

Who is someone you admire?

My husband, Colin. He teaches me to love other people and not be abstract. Love is always particular — it starts with attention to the people God puts in your path.