Best Books about Nuns

[Ancilla Domini]

My all time favorite book is "My Beloved: The Story of a Carmelite Nun" by Mother Catherine Thomas of Divine Providence.

 

Oh, I love that one! I got it for Christmas last year. It's fantastic. :D

[DiscerningCatholic]

"A Right to be Merry" by Mother Mary Francis, PCC

[Ancilla Domini]

"A Right to be Merry" by Mother Mary Francis, PCC

 

Best book ever :winner:

[veritas99]

The Deliverence of Sister Cecilia is a great book. It's out of print but if you can track it down and read it it's definitely worth it. It's the story of a sister in communist Hungry ( I think). It's based on a true story and the names have been changed because it was written when it was still under communist control. It tells of her escape. The beginning chapters tell about her growing up and her early days in religious life. It also shows how things stated changing when the communists took over and their attack on the Church and especially how they turned children against their parents. I think it's a must read.

[Ancilla Domini]

The Deliverence of Sister Cecilia is a great book. It's out of print but if you can track it down and read it it's definitely worth it. It's the story of a sister in communist Hungry ( I think). It's based on a true story and the names have been changed because it was written when it was still under communist control. It tells of her escape. The beginning chapters tell about her growing up and her early days in religious life. It also shows how things stated changing when the communists took over and their attack on the Church and especially how they turned children against their parents. I think it's a must read.

 

I love that book! I just found it recently, and I'm half way through it. It's fantastic! I also have "Forth and Abroad" by Mother Mary Francis, a follow-up (I refuse to call it a sequal) to "A Right to Be Merry." I haven't started reading it, (I have too many books to read right now) but I hope I'll be able to, over Christmas Break.

[miserere55]

Another great book is Barefoot Journey: autobiography of a Poor Clare Nun, by Sr. Felicity.

[Pia Jesu]

Everyone absolutely must go read Rumer Godden's In This House of Brede, there is an amesome edition by Loyola Classics. It's a saga about Benedictines in England and is based on the nuns at Stanbrook Abbey. Amazing, amazing book. The movie totally messes up the plot and message which is about forgiveness, surrender, and all the messy womderful things that make us human. It's also interesting because it's about Catholics in England and their struggle to survive during the reforming years.
Amanda.

 

The 1975 movie (starring Diana Riggs) is still worth seeing--and is one of the best film adaptations

(of a book) that I've seen.  Given its 105 minute viewing time, the plot development works!
 

[miserere55]

Yes, I think every future nun should read/watch the movie: In this House of Brede,  I love the movie, even though it is different in some ways from the book?  I have the movie, but haven't re-read the book in many years.  Doesn't she end up leaving the convent in the book?  But the movie has her staying in the Order.  I could be wrong

[BarbTherese]

Along with "A Right to be Merry", my best read was "Unveiled: The Hidden Life of Nuns" (C.L. Reed)

http://www.nunsunveiled.com/reviews.html

 

Publishers Weekly
March 2004

Although the title of this book hints at a possibly salacious expose, Reed offers a generous, loving and thorough treatment of contemporary North American nuns. What is most arresting about her portrait is the tremendous diversity among the women she profiles. In one chapter, we meet habited, cloistered Passionist nuns who rise at 2 a.m. to pray, flog their bare skin, and speak for only one hour each day; they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with activist sisters who teach in universities, work as prison chaplains or minister to drug addicts in urban safehouses. Reed acknowledges that the numbers of active women religious are down to almost a third of what they were in the mid-1960s, and that their average age today is a superannuated 69. However, she doesn't allow these grim statistics to tell the entire story, introducing us to sisters so dedicated and fascinating that we become optimistic about the future of women religious.

Reed, a non-Catholic, writes from the best tradition of investigative journalism, but she doesn't pretend to be unmoved by the stories of everyday heroism displayed by the women she describes, and chronicles her own spiritual journey throughout.

 

Dallas Morning News
Review: Unveiled: The Hidden Lives of Nuns Cheryl L. Reed
May 22, 2004

Many of the newly released nun books are formulaic. They either trash nuns as hopelessly archaic or put them on a pedestal that's unrealistic. Ms. Reed's book stands apart. This remarkable project, a labor of five years, neither trivializes nor stereotypes, but poignantly portrays the lives of women who chose this spiritual path.

Ms. Reed, a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, traveled the country to observe more than 300 nuns from 50 religious orders. She lived with hem and followed their routines, even when it meant community prayer during the wee hours of the morning. She met habited nuns and feminists, lipstick nuns and social justice advocates, stern autocrats and warm, welcoming women. Many of the nuns talked candidly about obedience, faith, sexuality and the male hierarchy.

Some saw themselves as models of holiness. Many more said they were striving to lead lives of holiness and were not necessarily better at it than others.

Ms. Reed shares telling moments with the sisters, but doesn't sensationalize. It's masterful storytelling built on painstaking research. With the number of nuns declining, Ms. Reed's work will remain a lasting chronicle of a significant moment in the American Catholic Church. S.H.A.

[darcy15]

Yes, I think every future nun should read/watch the movie: In this House of Brede,  I love the movie, even though it is different in some ways from the book?  I have the movie, but haven't re-read the book in many years.  Doesn't she end up leaving the convent in the book?  But the movie has her staying in the Order.  I could be wrong

 

Hi

 

In this House of Brede is one of my favourite books.I have lost count of how many times I have read it. It has also very recently become available on Kindle.

 

The film is not bad, but it misses out a great deal of the story - probably due to time constraints. It was filmed at real convents in Ireland and England.

 

Dame Philippa stays in the order, but is sent to Japan to set up a new foundation as Prioress.

 

Everyone should read the book - lots of detail abour Abbey life, and a very heartwarming story.

[marigold]

Hi

In this House of Brede is one of my favourite books.I have lost count of how many times I have read it. It has also very recently become available on Kindle.

The film is not bad, but it misses out a great deal of the story - probably due to time constraints. It was filmed at real convents in Ireland and England.

Dame Philippa stays in the order, but is sent to Japan to set up a new foundation as Prioress.

Everyone should read the book - lots of detail abour Abbey life, and a very heartwarming story.

I loved it. It's one of the few books that made me feel like I was there - whenever I think of it, I see the halls, the gardens and all the different nuns as though I actually know them. It's beautifully written.

For my part, I'm recommending The Scent of Holiness: Lessons From A Women's Monastery. If you ever wondered about Orthodox monasteries, start here :) Edited November 28, 2013 by marigold

[Pia Jesu]

Good to see your post, Marigold!  I also found your March, 2012 (excellent) recommendation of Letters to a Beginner by Abbess Thaisia.

 

Those interested in Orthodox vocations can view the Foreward to the original edition at:

 

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/letters_intro.aspx

[AveMariaPurissima]

A Right to Be Merry is, of course, awesome.  I also read and liked  the book, And Nora Said Yes.  That one is probably out of print, though.

[miserere55]

A book I just finished reading is a great book for anyone interested in religious life: An Unquenchable Thirst, by Mary Johnson.  She had been a Missionary of Charity for 20 years and writes about her llfe in that community.  It isnt a book, like many ex-nun stories, that is angry and bitter.  It presents the Sisters in a good light, but is honest and heartfelt and she discusses her own shortcomings as a sister.  It also gives a little insight into Mother Teresa on a personal and intimate level. 

 

I  went on an extended "Come and See," with the Missionaries of Charity at one time.  I lived with their aspirants and postulants in the Bronx.  They live a very harsh life, based on third world poverty, with a complete denial of self.  Their life is abject and, I felt, very lonely.  I was not fit for that life, it would have been too hard for me..........and I have, in monastic life, gone barefoot in the winter months, slept on a board for years, kept daily silence, ate rotten foods, perpetual fast, took the discipline, etc., etc., etc., And yet I found the Missionaries of Charity life to be too hard. 

 

Good Book!!!

[VeniJesuAmorMi]

I mentioned this before on Phatmass in another thread, but the book, "Following The Path of Divine Love" by the Discalced Carmelites of Cerro de los Angeles and La Aldehuela, Spain about Saint Maravillas. It was translated by the Buffalo Carmel. This book is great for information about life in Carmel along with letters to her from her spiritual director and letters from Saint Maravillas to her Sisters with very good advise. Its a great read especially for those discerning a Discalced Carmelite vocation. I know it can be purchased online and also at the Buffalo Carmel gift shop and the Brooklyn Carmel gift shop; not sure about other Carmels but there is a very good chance it would be there. :)