As I am a member of an anglican religious order, I am very interested in reading about other religious as well.

Going to make available etc.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sending onto Rossella05, October RABCK, enjoy:0)

How kind and thoughtful of you, thank you so much jillbe. I've been wanting to read this one for a while, I once visited a convent on a religious education class trip to hear the nuns talk about their vocation. I was 15 at the time and listening to them talk I remember thinking how liberated they seemed to be, and it's not something I perceive often in the women I come across in everyday life. Can't wait to start this book, thanks again!

Bookring Y
Synopsis: Isabel Losada interviewed ten young nuns from Anglican convents. She began with a suspicious attitude, prepared to dismiss their motives as immature and escapist, but in these interviews she learned more than she bargained for. The nuns talk about boyfriends, travel, love and spiritual yearning.
RULES: Please make a journal entry when you receive the book and again when you mail it off so I can keep track of it. If you still haven't read the book after 40 days please send it on to the next participant, thank you.
LILACWHISPER, Italyü
KLARADYN, South Africaü
ECHESKETCH, USAü
SPOILEDROTTEN, USAü
AZUKI, USAü
BLUEAMAZON, USAü
MRSBOKNOWS, USAü
HUNTERRYU, USAü
HOPI100, USA
SNAPDRAGONGIRL, USA
PRCS, Canada
VEKIKI, UK
CINDERESS, UK
ROSSELLA05, UK

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Before posting the book to LilacWhisper I thought I'd share my thoughts on it with you. There are so many issues that intersect in this book that it would be difficult to extensively explore all of them. I had to remind myself that its premise is, that choosing a consecrated life is now considered controversial and this choice requires an explanation; you may not (like me) share this view but if you accept that it reflects how most people feel then you'll be able to appreciate this book. I'm grateful for the opportunity to hear directly from these women, Sister Judith's chapter was my favourite because I thought she had a more profound and less sentimental understanding of her faith. I was very surprised (and worried) to read that a couple of sisters were not sure what chastity was, or hearing them say that 'it sounded medieval'..! (Personally I'm very grateful for the coherent teachings of my Catholic faith that taught me that God has intended love to be free, total, faithful and fruitful J) but I suppose that by not being too dogmatic these interviews will succeed in being more relatable to the general public. The Anglican Church itself with issues such as birth control, has decided to be more accepting and inclusive of our society's norms and expectations... I wonder if the same attitude will be extended to them by their non-religious contemporaries. I believe this book helps open a dialogue, giving us the opportunity to discuss all the other issues I was referring to at the beginning; for this reason I've decided to let it travel on a bookring. Like most women I'm grateful to have been given so many choices but I don't believe that some of them can co-exist. We can only make choices if we have the ability to make distinctions and so far our faith has encouraged and guided us in making those distinctions. It reminds me of a statement Laura Ingraham, author of Power To The People, made: "Whether the next generation enjoys the blessings that we've enjoyed, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, all remains to be seen. The personal moral choices that we make today have a profound effect on that. Only by being routed in core principled values, and our faith, will we be able to recognise real evil when we see it".

I've just found the book outside the frontdoor.
I'll soon start reading and leave my impressions about it.

This book is a collection of real biographies, reading more like spontaneous, confidential monologues than vis-à-vis interviews. I must confess I expected a sort of "theological" or "divine" work, but it isn't; I'm Catholic, but I don't like reading books which have been too much inspired by any religious belief, and this book is perfect from that perspective.
Reading this book was a real surprise for different reasons. In particular, the author doesn't want to persuade female readers to become nuns themselves: she's not a nun, so she has a "non-religious perspective". She reveals herself as coherent and very curious about what nuns are to tell her.
We can virtually enter a convent, get details about nuns' everyday life as well as their life before taking the vows. They talk about themselves as human beings, even about their past love affairs and jobs or their ideas about sexual relationships, so that we can think of them as human beings like us, not as "aliens".
I've never happened neither to talk to a nun, nor to live in a convent, but I've always been very curious and this book was particularly helpful.
Thank you ringmaster, I've just sent a PM to the following participant and I think I'll ship the book as soon as the Christmas rush comes to an end, possibly after 6th January (Italian postal service is not so perfect during holidays, I don't want your book to get lost in the mail!). Please tell me if you don't agree.
Thank you and... FELICE 2009! :D

Klaradyn has immediately replied via PM, so I have her address now. I'll be shipping in the very next days, hope she'll get it soon. I'll make a release note, informing you the book has left.
Thank you!

The book is on its way to Southafrica :)

Arrived today. Thanks for sending, lilacwhisper, and for starting the ring, Rossella05. Will read and send on as soon as possible.

I finished this during the past weekend. Two things especially struck me about this book. Firstly, there seems to be many differences between the practices of the various orders. I hadn't realised that this was the case. Secondly, the nuns who tell their stories never come across as being superior, or considering themselves superior to others who do not choose the same path. I don't know if I'm expressing that very well - I mean that they don't look down on other people who are not in holy orders. And they all seem relatively secure and confident in their faith.
Thanks for starting this ring, Rossella05, I was glad to have the chance to read this book.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Will be posting this to echesketch when I go to the post office tomorrow.

My book #7 for guinaveve's Keep Them Moving challenge.

Edited 10 February: Sorry, I only mailed the package today. Why? I stupidly forgot a number of packages in my desk at work, while I went on leave!

New Habits arrived safe and sound.

When it rains, it pours. I just finished another bookring and sent it off today. Meanwhile, a second ring arrived last week that I've already begun.

I'll start New Habits asap.

I'm so sorry to be later than expected in getting New Habits back on the road. It was a such an easy read but too many things were happening at the exact same time.

I took to heart the recommendation to read the book without distraction and discovered, to my surprise, how challenging that simple task could be.

Although I sincerely appreciated the fact that these women stepped forward to offer some insight as to what drew them to their current position in life, I also appreciated how informative they were with regard to the variety of communities in which they each live and in what way they have served.

Sister Lynn, of the Community of the Sisters of the Church, mirrored so many of my own thoughts that I found myself often saying, "Yes, I know exactly what you mean!"

I adore Sister Rose of the Community of St. Francis. What a hoot! I got halfway through her chapter and decided that I just had to read some of it to my husband. He was laughing so hard and I was even to the point of tears. I could barely read it to him. All I could think was "Oh my! Is she going to make it?" But she found her niche and it seems so right for her.

I lived in an interesting Catholic environment that brought me no closer to an understanding of what inspires a woman's decision to become a nun until I read New Habits. Despite the fact that I was fortunate to have had a constant presence in my life by way of two great-aunts who became nuns and an uncle who became a priest, I never thought to ask why they were doing what they were doing or what led them to their decision to take their chosen path. They were simply part of our family canvas and they were who they were with no questions asked. I just bet that if I had asked questions, they would have answered. I did get a wonderful glimpse into the world within which one of my aunts lived. She served as an administrator at the Sinsinawa Mound, home-base to several hundred Dominican nuns from the Order of Preachers and located in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. It’s a massive place and I was able to see just about all of it. My stay there was a wonderful experience and something I’ll never forget.

I had the opportunity again to learn more when I taught at a Catholic grade school for several years. But again, I didn't delve into personal lives. Looking back, I did walk away with a more intimate knowledge of how a community of nuns functioned on a day-to-day basis. I soon learned what their individual roles were outside of the classroom, how they got along, what sort of schedule they use at the convent, what kind of relationship they had with the priests in the rectory next door. It was a fascinating experience.

Anyway, Thank you, Rosella05, for letting me be a part of this book ring. It provided food for thought while bringing back good memories of my past experiences with the many nuns that have passed through my life.

New Habits is now on its way to spoiledrotten.

Received in the mail today. Perfect timing as I just finished my current book. Thanks for sending and including me!

I found dthis book to be very interesting and informative. I never understood why women would choose this way of life but now I have a better understanding. I enjoyed the format of the book and agree it did not read as an interview, but more like personal stories. Thanks so much for including me.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Book was sent on to Azuki yesterday, enjoy!

Book has safely arrived. Will start on this after I finish my current book.
When I was a kid growing up in a Catholic School, like many children I was highly curious about the lives of the sisters, so foreign to us. I guess I can finally find some answer here.

Interesting how one of the author's book is about Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism, and the other about nuns. Unlike the first one which is her personal experience, this one is a collection of life stories of other women. They all come across as very nice, and "ordinary" in a sense that they are just like us, though sometimes a comment or a line will pop out to me and move me. It's also interesting to see how varied the communities are, it's like everyone can find a niche to fit her style.

And lastly: I don't like the cover photo! Why is the sister "behind bars"? Most certainly they don't feel caged or captivated in their lives.

I will mail this off next week to the BlueAmazon, before the postage goes up!

thanks - very happy to have received this ring. will read, and send on.

I am doing my best to do this book justice - am reading hte stories individually, but as I have mono right now, it's hard to concentrate!

I worked in a Catholic convent for more than a year [as a Jewish lesbian - which they knew] and am fascinated by those who decide to enter a Religious order. Sister Judith's story is captivating to me - as still, my image of Sisters is the contemplative.

Sister Helen, however, seems the most like Sisters I knew - in fact, she mentions a Sister who studied massage and aromatherapy - Sister Renee was a masseuse - in the order when I worked. fascinating! also from Helen - "The privilege of being able to pray four times a day with these people who sometimes I like and sometimes I don't, is wonderful." how powerful.

I found this book quite interesting - still am drawn to the idea of the contemplative community - they are fascinating to me.

I love that the Sisters will surprise so many people - like Rose referring to God as "She". The Sisters for whom I worked surprised me all the time, including our own Rose, who was in prison ministry and could swear like a sailor.

Thanks for the book - fascinating!

Arrived today and is 5th in line. I need to get reading!!!

What a fascinating book! I've often wondered what makes people go into the various forms of ministry and have been especially fascinated by nuns since the first time I saw "Sound of Music." Their lives seem so fulfilling and calm. I loved each woman's ease with which she told her story and can appreciate their honesty.

Thank you so much for allowing me to share the stories of these lovely ladies. I have HunterRyu's address and will pop this in the mail tomorrow.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Off to HunterRyu

Book arrived safely. I have a couple others I need to read first but I promise to get to this and send along as quick as I can. I look forward to reading this!

Ohmigosh, I am soooo sorry for the delay! Life things came up. Working on it now, should be done within a week or two. Thanks for your patience!

Sorry for holding this book so long, PMed next participant for address.

I really enjoyed these interviews. They actually made me ponder a bit about being a nun myself, many of the things these women said were really familiar to my own situation. The biggest reason I'm not like them though is that lack of religion in my life, however I still really felt they made it seem a viable life choice. Very enlightening. I am glad I had a chance to read about these ladies. Thank you so much for sharing!

I may even try and acquire another copy of this book to keep!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

"It is a great pity that sex and love are quite often confused with each other. To have sex so early when you are so young can't compare with the richness of the experience if you are in love and have the right circumstances around you." ~ Sister Esther

Mailing off to hopi100 on my next Post Office trip, thanks for sharing with me and for your patience!