2) Her authority, which she had by example only, rested in this: that there was not an ace of difference between what she believed, what she wrote or spoke, and the way she lived her life. It was nothing but the gentle personalism of traditional Catholicism: personal obligation of looking after the needs of our brother, daily practice of the Works of Mercy.
And no skin off of your nose or anybody else's.
Exceptionally good journalist (or I could say "diarist") as well. ANybody would be enriched by reading her for twenty minutes a day. She is as good as bread.
1)You claim that Day “forced austerities on nobody except herself.” Perhaps you are unaware of the famous “retreat” embraced by Day and given by Fr. John J. Hugo at the Catholic Worker many times (Carol Byrne, “The Catholic Worker Movement(1933-1980): A Critical Analysis,” 2010, pp. 232-238). The retreat—which urged austerities on the laity with no loopholes—did little good, according to longtime Catholic Worker Stanley Vishnewski in “Wings of the Dawn”(1984, pp.208-215). Day’s daughter Tamar had austerities forced on her and detested the retreat. The retreat was so controversial Hugo was “silenced” and the retreat called “Jansenistic in tendency” (William D. Miller, “Dorothy Day,” 1982, p. 340). When Day died, Fr. Hugo was to say the mass, but the funeral mass was said by then-Fr. Geoffrey Gneuhs, the CW chaplain, because Day’s daughter Tamar refused to attend with Hugo (R. G. Riegle, “Dorothy Day: Portraits by Those Who Knew Her,” 2003, p. 184,note 2). Day herself reneged in later life—the retreat inveighed against listening to the radio and having linoleum—and reports in her diary listening to radio and watching television programs (pp. 647, 650, 659) and accepting half a bottle of port (p. 658).
2) As for Day’s “authority, which she had by example only,” Day’s co-workers would disagree. CW Tom Cornell said, “[We] Let everyone know that if they talked to reporters, that would be against Dorothy’s will, which is tantamount to saying good-bye. (We had no redress, no committees or any of that shit. If you’re out, you’re out)” (R. Riegle Troester, ed., “Voices From the Catholic Worker,” 1993, p. 40). Similarly, Michael Harrington stated that Day was the head of the CW, and after people engaged in a discussion, she did what she wanted (Maurice Isserman, “The Other American: The Untold Life of Michael Harrington,” 2000, p. 73).
Dear me, you may feel “she is as good as bread,” but some who read her diary feel the need of a stiff drink!