A forthright tale of pain and healing.
A journey home.
From the time she was a child and saw the movie The Nun’s Story, the author longed to become a nun, to be part of a close community dedicated to God and good works. Although her mother wasn’t a churchgoer, with her religious grandmother, she attended a Baptist congregation—a “serene, sweet place” compared to her chaotic and abusive home. In her candid debut memoir, Claudette Powell, now Sister Monica Clare, recounts growing up in poverty and fear. Her father, addicted to amphetamines, erupted in violent rages, beating her mother and threatening to kill her. The family moved frequently, and the young Claudette felt like an outsider in every new school—as well as from the Southern expectations of womanhood. She felt pressed into an ill-fitting image to be “beautiful, smart, obedient and then have a job, a husband, and children.” She wanted to serve God. Even in college (she got a partial scholarship to New York University), even as she became a standup comic and performed with an improv group, even working in New York and Los Angeles, she followed a secret spiritual path, praying, reading the Bible, and sneaking off to church. A dismal marriage to a cold, narcissistic man made her desperately unhappy, but for years she felt unable to extricate herself. Finally, she managed to turn her life around: In 2000 she was confirmed in the Episcopal Church and, in 2012, was received as a postulant at the Community of St. John Baptist. As Sister Monica, she was challenged by rules, traditions, and unspoken codes of behavior; being evaluated every six months stirred up deep feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. Her memoir is a testimony of both her steadfast commitment to God and her long, hard struggle to conquer her own demons.
A forthright tale of pain and healing.Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780593727119
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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