And Then There Were Nuns

January 6, 2014
When her long-time beau finally proposed to Christmas, her desire to accept his marriage proposal was complicated by a competing desireâto explore a long-standing call to give her life to God through service as a nun. With clever wit and humor, as well as honest insight and candor, Christmas (Incontinent on the Continent) shares the details of her attempt to discern whether she has the dedication, discipline, perseverance, introspection, contemplative capability and spirit needed for a cloistered life. She seeks direction by registering as an aspirant in four different convents over a period of 18 months. Taking the plunge at an Anglican convent in Toronto, she then moves on to three Catholic communities in the U.K., including the exquisite 17th century Quarr Abbey monastery on the Isle of Wight. While participating in the nuns and monks' routines âcelebrating "the offices," cooking and cleaning, spending hours in quiet contemplation, scripture reading, reflection and prayerâshe struggles to stay focused, to maintain a contemplative state of mind, and to free herself from ever-intruding worldly thoughts and distractions. In the silence and simplicity of those hallowed halls, she challenges her self-perception, her personal issues and her demons well enough to see who she is and where she really belongs.

Starred review from September 15, 2013
How awkward. Fiftyish Christmas' long-term, long-distance boyfriend proposes just when she's decided she wants to become a nun. But does she really? Christmas takes readers along on a thought-provoking (and often amusing) journey to fourcount 'em, fourcloistered communities in Great Britain, as she tries to make her life-changing decision over the course of many months. Along the way, she meets monks, nuns (both Catholic and Anglican), a demon or two, and possibly Jesus. Although she writes with a light touch, Christmas girds the narrative with solid questions. What does the religious life really entail? Why are religious communities almost forgotten, even by those of their faith? How do you choose between paths that are equally joyous and difficult, albeit in thoroughly dissimilar ways? As Jane (and it's hard to think of her as anything but Jane) and the audience come to learn, a traumatic event in her life must be resurrected and addressed while her future is being decided. This is the best kind of memoir, revealing, refreshing, and reflective enough to make readers turn many of the questions on themselves. A delightful trip down the road less traveled.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)