What Julia Walsh ultimately finds in this memoir, her first book, is a happily vowed, consecrated life in a Roman Catholic women’s religious order. In other words, she becomes a nun. Needless to say, this is not for everyone! But she obviously knows that. Which is what makes her writing so enjoyable.
Told with sometimes painfully honest frankness, Walsh reveals religious doubts, questions about sexuality, and concerns about abuses in the Church to which she’s dedicating herself. In the end, she finds herself committing to become a Franciscan Sister, but without any triumphalism. There’s never the sense of her truth being better than anyone else’s — only that she is dedicated to finding her truth.
The book begins with the story of her facial disfigurement at the age of 25, the result of falling thirty feet down a cliff and landing in a rocky stream bed. This happened when she was just a month into her novitiate as a Sister. Then there are winding patterns and self-doubts, including men who divert her attention and make her question her faith.
One charming chapter is a reflection on how two movies about nuns, The Sound of Music and Sister Act problematically introduced her to the life of nuns. Contemplating Maria from The Sound of Music, for instance, Walsh wonders, “Am I looking around for the man I will fall in love with, who will take me away from the convent and make me into a mother and wife?”
Surprisingly perhaps, we think this memoir will appeal to people of faith and no faith, to humanists as well as Catholics or Christians of all kinds. Walsh’s story is filled with the practices of questing and faith, but she manages to write in a way that may speak also to Nones. Even Walsh’s reasons for finally choosing life among other committed nuns might surprise readers; they may find themselves agreeing with some of those values. (See the excerpt accompanying this review.)
Most of all, joy rises from every chapter, which probably few will find relatable but many will find desirable.
Go Deeper:
A Journey through the Monastic Heart: This e-course by Benedictine nun, theologian, and peacemaker Joan Chittister offers spiritual practices for all seekers of a contemplative and fulfilling life.
