Status
Available
Publication
Berkley Trade (2005), Paperback, 352 pages
Description
Surprising. Provocative. Honest. For Unveiled, reporter Cheryl Reed interviewed more than 300 nuns of diverse beliefs, lifestyles, and orders. She lived and prayed with them, witnessed their vows, mourned and celebrated with them, and asked questions no one had ever dared before: about love and sex, life and death, faith and joy, and loss and regret. In the process, Reed would discover more about motherhood, relationships, faith, and feminism than she ever gleaned from the outside world.
User reviews
LibraryThing member lindapanzo
As a product of Catholic schools, I thought I knew nuns. Nuns are teachers and sometimes, they work in hospitals, don't they? Well, as I learned in this absolutely fascinating book, I was wrong.
There are conservative nuns, progressive nuns, even radical nuns. In fact, some call nuns the first
Interestingly, one order of nuns, the Daughters of St Paul (aka the Paulines), specializes in running bookstores and a publishing house, as part of its communications mission. I wish the author had talked to them as part of the 300+ nuns she spoke to.
Despite the title, this isn't some sort of expose but rather, a book that shows that nuns are real people with their own thoughts, feelings, inability to juggle work and life etc. In high school, especially, I learned this to some extent but this book really reinforced that for me.
I thought the author inserted her own views on religion a tad too much but, for me, this wasn't enough to diminish the book.
This interesting and informative book will likely be on my list of favorites for 2010.
There are conservative nuns, progressive nuns, even radical nuns. In fact, some call nuns the first
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feminists. Many nuns wear habits and many do not. Some are active and pursue occupations while others are contemplative.Interestingly, one order of nuns, the Daughters of St Paul (aka the Paulines), specializes in running bookstores and a publishing house, as part of its communications mission. I wish the author had talked to them as part of the 300+ nuns she spoke to.
Despite the title, this isn't some sort of expose but rather, a book that shows that nuns are real people with their own thoughts, feelings, inability to juggle work and life etc. In high school, especially, I learned this to some extent but this book really reinforced that for me.
I thought the author inserted her own views on religion a tad too much but, for me, this wasn't enough to diminish the book.
This interesting and informative book will likely be on my list of favorites for 2010.
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LibraryThing member shannonkearns
Really interesting look at the lives of nuns. Interviews with nuns from all different orders. Fascinating.
LibraryThing member vlcraven
The cloistered lives of nuns have interested me since I was small—I think it was because I thought they got to sit around and read all day (and I liked the habits). I’ve known for a while now that there’s a bit more involved than reading, but this book was quite an education not only in the
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different types of orders but also the different types of nuns. Reed’s book covers everything from the strictest closed orders where the sisters beat their bare bottoms as penance for souls in purgatory to the non-denominational pregnancy clinic that leaves little time for prayer; from gun-toting, pro-life nuns to four biological sister sisters who protest war, racism and homophobia. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Minnesota Book Awards (Finalist — General Nonfiction — 2005)
Physical description
352 p.; 9.09 inches
ISBN
0425200299 / 9780425200292
Local notes
religion