Once Upon a Convent: A Memoir of a Lesbian Nun

by Orice Klaas

A fifteen-year-old girl enters a convent during an era when nuns wear traditional habits and are physically and emotionally isolated from the rest of the world. In spite of being subjected to a rigid discipline that includes nearly perpetual silence and almost total separation from her family, friends, and fellow community members. She makes the most of her life for nineteen years, until an eventual unexpected sexual awakening forces her to make a choice.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Queer Lit, LGBT, Lesbian, Religion, Christianity

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 15, 2015

Reviews

[Carol Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a straightforward, honest memoir of a woman who entered an old-fashioned convent when she was a sophomore in high school. I know some other former nuns who entered at that young age, but such stories always horrify me. In this case, a priest convinced Orice and her parents that she had a vocation. She imagined a fairy-tale life wearing flowing clothes in a turreted convent.

Orice wanted to leave almost as soon as she entered, but she couldn't bring herself to disappoint her parents, especially her mother, who was very excited about her joining.

The book details the hard work and self-abnegation that Orice had to accept, in addition to the loneliness of being unable to be close to anyone because the convent opposed having particular friends.

The book also tells about the changes that came after the Second Vatican Council and Orice's growing awareness of her attraction to other women. She eventually left the convent.

I hope no order of nuns still encourages such young girls to join.

[Roslyn Bane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. An interesting and inspiring memoir. I was very interested in reading about what was happening post Vatican II in the convents. I was a young Catholic school girl in the late 60's and early 70's and in awe of the nuns and we were intimidated by them too. We knew things were changing but certainly didn't understand anything that was occurring, other than the sisters were leaving. This was an excellent look at what was going on during that time of change in the Church. A very human, and emotional look at the sacrifices that were made by the sisters and the journey to rediscover self.

[Liralen · Rating 3 out of 5]

...by the time I've become a Candidate, I've become accustomed to keeping most questions about my faith to myself. I've learned to accept, blank out my mind, and obey. (85)

Klaas entered a convent in the 1950s, when she was just fifteen. She finished her schooling in the convent, went from candidate to novice to fully-fledged nun, and spent almost two decades wearing the veil.

Except—the Catholic Church changed. Vatican II came about when Klaas was still a very young nun, and all of a sudden the rules were different. Her order/convent was already much less restrictive than many of those I've read about (which is not to say that life was easy), and Klaas describes the higher-ups in her order as being very receptive to the need for changes. The first thing to go: the classic veil. Then many of the rules and restrictions. And Klaas began to allow herself to wonder if she was really interested in women, and what that meant for her relationship with God.

It's tough to pack 19 years into a slim memoir (it's hard to tell on a Kindle how long a book is; officially this is nearly 300 pages, but if that's the case, the font size must be massive). In some places I'd really have loved more detail—she never mentions the location or region of the convent or of where she grew up, for example, which makes it harder for me to put it in cultural context. But it's pretty fascinating material. Sometimes I think I'd have made a good nun (except for the Catholic thing) (and the gay thing) (and the part where I don't want to follow arbitrary rules for the sake of following arbitrary rules), but, gosh, what a complicated experience.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best convent memoir

This book is poorly edited and contains many spelling and grammatical errors. The dates of some events that are cited by the author do not coincide. The author describes watching films while in the convent that were not filmed until years after the events which the author described. The Latin translation of the Order's motto, "Ora et Labora" is translated as "Work and Pray" instead of the correct Benedictine motto "Pray and Work" which a member of the community would surely be aware.

[Kate Tillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Editing needed

While the story itself is quite interesting, there is such poor grammar and misspellings, it becomes distracting. I gained some knowledge regarding the Catholic faith in general and the life of a nun in particular. But, my concentration on the story itself was often difficult to maintain because of the flaws noted above.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-written and interesting memoir of convent life, beginning at age 15 in the late 1950s.

[Seanan DeGrave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tells of the changes in religious life before and after Vatican II, esp the tensions that happened during the council

[Mary Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glad I read this book

This book brings back memories. Engaging book. Good story telling. Please write more stories I will read them sooner than later.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an excellent memoir covering a turbulent period of time for men and women in religious orders in America and probably other countries as well. The story is more about what religious life in the convent was like before and after Vatican II than it is about a lesbian in a convent. The first two-thirds of the book does not go into sexual activity at all, but more into the loneliness of a girl in her early teens who enters a place where warm personal interactions are pretty much prohibited. We get a look at all of this through her young eyes. After Vatican II there are huge changes in religious life in the convent and the author takes us through them from personal experience. I found this fascinating.

The writing is not done with sensationalism in mind, even though the title might lead us to expect that. We are simply told what happens in ways that let us know the depth of feeling that she experienced without getting into detail. I thought this was handled very well for someone who is not a polished author. The story is told in chronological order in short chapters and clear language. It is a memoir and not a titillating romance.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've really been wanting to read a memoir by a nun, and stumbled on this one. It was awesome! Klaas entered the convent at a young age but has excellent recall and descriptions of her experiences. I do wish she'd gone more into her experiences after leaving the convent, but that was probably a space consideration. There were a few editing errors (I got the impression this book is self-published?) but they're mostly small and easy to overlook in favor of the fascinating content.

[Tessa Kirk · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is an interesting story but I wonder if it was proof read or the publishers checked before printing etc. One chapter had repeats in it and several sentences I had to guess words whish spoled the story and why I only gave it 2*