Journal Entry 1 by cordelia-anne from Decatur, Georgia USA on Monday, December 07, 2009

Dear Reader,

Bookcrossing led me to this book. After seeing it float by here in release one night and noting the striking title, I walked into a bookstore the next day where I found it prominently displayed. This was book serendipity I couldn't resist. I'm glad now that I decided to take this very singular story home. Author Beryl Singleton Bissel's journey toward God, which continues, is a remarkable one. She confounds her family by entering a monastery to live the cloistered, contemplative life of the Poor Clares and subsequently finds herself drawn back to her family and to a difficult and unlikely relationship. She decides to leave cloistered life to pursue her love for a Roman Catholic priest, who must leave his vocation to marry her. Though both relinquish their roles in the Church, they remain faithful Catholics. Their happiness is brief, tragically brief. Yet, as Bissel remarks in the closing pages, "wafting throughout the story--like an elusive but lovely fragrance--is the persistent and unmistakable scent of a loving and infinitely patient God." A columnist in the Midwest, Bissel maintains a website and blog, www.berylsingletonbissell.com. I look forward to reading more of her work online.

After sending this along to one other bookcrosser, I've decided that it's a story too good to miss. So, to encourage book serendipity, I've decided to give some copies of this book for Christmas. More people should be reading this. The Scent of God is so well and respectfully written that it has the power of a Frederick Buechner memoir. Buechner, like Bissell, is both writer and "religious." An ordained Presbyterian minister and novelist, he's written the story of his life in a series of memoirs that I find I return to again and again. Bissell may have left her vocation as a nun but she draws on her contemplative experience to present this story. A while away from reading the book now, I find it stays with me like a Buechner memoir. It has the same depth of authenticy and yearning. Young Beryl comes from a family living with addiction and she experiences the addiction of anorexia for a time as a Poor Clare. I have also struggled with the heritage and the experience of addiction. The wrenching love story was at first hard for me to relate to as a Catholic, albeit from another era, but I stayed with it, trying not to judge a nun and a priest who had to leave the celibate life. The miracle of the book for me was that the two retained their faith. They acknowledged their failings and the transformation of their love, then sought to live honestly. A sustained faith requires such honesty and dedication. I'm grateful for the examples of both found within these pages. Many readers, I'm sure, would find the strengths and resonances that I did here. So I'm once again offering this book. Have a good journey dear story. 

Journal Entry 2 by cordelia-anne at -- Wild released somewhere in the state, Ohio USA on Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Released 2 yrs ago (12/15/2009 UTC) at -- Wild released somewhere in the state, Ohio USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

For a good bookcrossing friend, a very special bookcrossing book. May it have a good journey this Christmas and in the year to come. 

Journal Entry 3 by guinaveve from Mason, Ohio USA on Monday, December 21, 2009

How exciting- a book written by another Bookcrosser. I have read a couple of other books by other bookcrossers and always enjoy that extra connection!
Thanks for sending this my way, Cordelia-anne. 

Journal Entry 4 by guinaveve at Mason, Ohio USA on Tuesday, July 13, 2010

I can't believe I have had such a great memoir sitting on my shelf for so long. I picked it up to read yesterday and have spent every free moment since engaged in this book. I enjoyed the descriptions of the Puerto Rican scenery and surroundings and the accounts of the author's life as a nun.
One thing that I did find interesting was the author's relationship with her mother when she left the convent and moved "home." Bissell was about the same age that I am now (early 30s), but she related to her mother more as a 16 year old girl would, and her mother treated her as a teenager. As a mother of 3 children with a mortgage and job and the average responsibility of any adult, this was difficult for me to fathom, but my life experiences are vastly different from the author's. It seems as thought she felt in many ways like the just-turned-18 year old that went into the convent many years prior.
Unfortunately I could relate to the anorexic parts of Bissell's tale more than I care to think about and remember. I wondered if the comments about her weight would have had the same affect outside of a convent. Was she trying to control her body in a way that the rest of her life was out of her own control due to rules of the convent or was the anorexia something that would have developed anyway?
I admired her strength in the face of the 2 major loses in her life. Those are things that I couldn't even contemplate dealing with in my own life.
Thank you for sharing the link to her blog cordelia-anne. I intend to check that out. And thank you for sharing this wonderful book with me.  

Journal Entry 5 by guinaveve at *** in Sent by mail, a fellow bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases on Monday, August 02, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (8/2/2010 UTC) at *** in Sent by mail, a fellow bookcrosser -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

releasing to "award winning" bookbox. “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006 

Journal Entry 6 by JudySlump612 at Minneapolis, Minnesota USA on Monday, September 13, 2010

Chosen from Tabby-cat-owner's Award-Winning Bookbox 

Journal Entry 7 by JudySlump612 at Minneapolis, Minnesota USA on Thursday, November 18, 2010

I don't share many experiences with the author, but it is a tribute to her writing that she brought me into her life so completely. First of all, I admire her decision to be so honest about all parts of her life, and second, I admire her skill in making her story so vivid and compelling. She is especially successful in making me understand her feelings about God and her vocation as her circumstances change. Like guinaveve, I wonder about the anorexia, whether it was a reaction to convent restrictions. It would be interesting to compare statistics, inside and out.

This is trivial, but personally I'm glad the author chose not to put a scrapbook of pictures into this book. Normally I enjoy seeing how people look, but in this case she was right to keep her privacy - our imaginations were empowered to see the characters in a way that transcends details. Also, the cover design and photograph really got my attention, and somehow were perfect for the book. 

Journal Entry 8 by JudySlump612 at Nonfiction Book Box, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, November 18, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (11/18/2010 UTC) at Nonfiction Book Box, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Placed in Mary'sGirl's Nonfiction Book Box 

Journal Entry 9 by Ri at Cincinnati, Ohio USA on Saturday, December 11, 2010

I pulled this one out of the Nonfiction Book Box. Looks good. Thanks!