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Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession
'[W]hen I found Rice's work I absolutely loved how she took that genre and (...) made [it] feel so contemporary and relevant' Sarah Pinborough, bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes'[Rice wrote] in the great tradition of the gothic' Ramsey Campbell, bestselling author of The Hungry MoonInternationally bestselling author, Anne Rice, has written twenty-eight novels - magnificent tales of other worldly beings that explore the realms of good and evil, love and each a reflection of her own moral journey. Now, in her powerful memoir, she writes about her own life as a Catholic.Beginning with her New Orleans childhood, in a vividly experienced world of storytelling and ritual, Rice's faith was formed. As a teenager, struggling to reconcile her faith with her hunger for knowledge and understanding of the modern world, she turned her back to the religion of her childhood and lost her belief in God. Years later, after the tragic passing of her daughter, she wrote Interview with the Vampire ,a lament for her lost faith.Rice describes a turning point in 1998, when, after nearly four decades as an atheist, she returned to the religion of her childhood. Hers is a faith that has survived even her husband's death and the divisive nature of contemporary religious debate. This is her spiritual confession.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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3126 people want to read
About the author
Anne Rice
492 books27.5k followersAnne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien) was a best-selling American author of gothic, supernatural, historical, erotica, and later religious themed books. Best known for The Vampire Chronicles, her prevailing thematic focus is on love, death, immortality, existentialism, and the human condition. She was married to poet Stan Rice for 41 years until his death in 2002. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history.
Anne Rice passed on December 11, 2021 due to complications from a stroke. She was eighty years old at the time of her death.
She uses the pseudonym Anne Rampling for adult-themed fiction (i.e., erotica) and A.N. Roquelaure for fiction featuring sexually explicit sado-masochism.
Anne Rice passed on December 11, 2021 due to complications from a stroke. She was eighty years old at the time of her death.
She uses the pseudonym Anne Rampling for adult-themed fiction (i.e., erotica) and A.N. Roquelaure for fiction featuring sexually explicit sado-masochism.
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February 4, 2009
In 2005, I witnessed one of the greatest changes in literary history.
Anne Rice, the woman known for writing about vampires, witches, mummies and spirits announced she was going to write books about the life of Jesus Christ.
I remember thinking that this was someone’s really great idea of a joke. But the joke was on me. The first book, Christ the Lord - Out of Egypt, was released shortly after the incredible announcement.
At the time, I worked in a bookstore. I had seen the book on the shelf and ignored it, largely because I thought it wouldn’t be any good. How could a woman who wrote such incredible books about legendary figures switch to writing about Christianity?
In the end, out of sheer curiosity, I bought the book. After the first page, I was held spellbound. Indeed, Anne Rice was writing about the most incredible legendary figure of our time: Jesus Christ.
I devoured the next book about Jesus Christ: Christ the Lord - The Road to Cana. I felt that Out of Egypt and The Road to Cana were Rice’s best work. The reserved, elegant prose read like liquid poetry and the passion and spark that had been lacking in some of her later books had returned in full force.
But I was still left wondering: why? Anne Rice did made a living out writing about characters that go about trying to prove God doesn’t exist. Her books had been incredibly angry towards God and Christianity in particular.
Now here she was writing about the life of Jesus Christ. There is a lengthy authors note in the back of Christ the Lord - Out of Egypt, but I was still left with questions. Though Out of Egypt and The Road to Cana were her best books in years, possibly the best books of her entire career, why did she make such a drastic change?
We finally have an answer.
That answer arrives in Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession. It is Rice’s first memoir and first work of non-fiction. It also seeks to explain her spiritual transformation that resulted in an incredible change in her literary career.
Rice begins the memoir by telling us of her strict Catholic upbringing. How she was surrounded by God and the Church and Catholicism. How she was required to go to church every day and be thankful for God, though he was cruel and vengeful.
What is most interesting, however, is when Rice begins to talk of her years at college and how her strict Catholic upbringing does not fit into her new life away from home. The struggle that Rice goes through to hold on to her relationship with God while being confronted with the normalcy of life outside the Catholic church is truly harrowing.
You feel for her as she struggles internally with what she feels inside and what she sees and experiences all around her. I actually found myself moved emotionally when Rice decides there is no God, that there is no Christ, and becomes an atheist.
And yet, though she claimed not to believe in God, each of Rice’s novels prior to her new relationship with God as a Catholic, has to do with God and those who seek him. Each of her novels featured those who are constantly searching for a bliss they do not feel in their souls.
Through out all those years, she was really a closet Christian, a woman obsessed with God but unwilling to admit it to herself. It takes something miraculous to bring her back to the Catholic Church.
And back to God.
Now, I am not a Christian. I don’t normally read what I would call Christian books. They don’t appeal to me, they don’t interest me and I normally pass them by in the bookstore. In fact, they usually make me slightly uncomfortable.
There are a few reasons for this. Like Rice, I grew up in an incredibly religious home. I was subjected to rules and regulations that were all dictated by the Church. God seemed to be filled with more hate than love, more vengeance then forgiveness. My church at the time and my family were not able to show me a God capable of love.
I moved away from the Catholic Church as soon as I could.
After much searching, found a spirituality that suited me, that sated the need for spirituality I had. But I still get a sour taste in my mouth when I think of Christianity. Regretfully, it is my families’ skewed version of Christianity that always comes to the light first.
All that to say: I don’t normally read what I would call Christian books. However, Called out of Darkness is beyond wonderful. The same beautiful writing that shines on the pages of Christ the Lord - Out of Egypt and Christ the Lord - The Road to Cana graces the pages of Called Out of Darkness in abundance.
But the most beautiful thing about Called Out of Darkness is that Rice makes the distinction between God and the Church. One of the most beautiful parts of Called Out of Darkness is when Rice laments her lost relationship with God and realizes that it has nothing to do with the Church. It all has to do with God and with God’s love.
Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession is an intimate account of Anne Rice’s journey back to Christianity, back to Catholicism. Back to God. It is a story of one woman’s search to find herself in a world that is often confusing.
Called Out of Darkness is an incredible, moving story of one woman’s search for who she is and what she believes. It is the story of one woman who searched for, and found, her spirit.
More than that, Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Journey is a beautiful, haunting book. Regardless of whether or not you are a Christian, or have even read any of Anne Rice’s books about Jesus Christ, read this book.
Your spirit will thank you for it.
Anne Rice, the woman known for writing about vampires, witches, mummies and spirits announced she was going to write books about the life of Jesus Christ.
I remember thinking that this was someone’s really great idea of a joke. But the joke was on me. The first book, Christ the Lord - Out of Egypt, was released shortly after the incredible announcement.
At the time, I worked in a bookstore. I had seen the book on the shelf and ignored it, largely because I thought it wouldn’t be any good. How could a woman who wrote such incredible books about legendary figures switch to writing about Christianity?
In the end, out of sheer curiosity, I bought the book. After the first page, I was held spellbound. Indeed, Anne Rice was writing about the most incredible legendary figure of our time: Jesus Christ.
I devoured the next book about Jesus Christ: Christ the Lord - The Road to Cana. I felt that Out of Egypt and The Road to Cana were Rice’s best work. The reserved, elegant prose read like liquid poetry and the passion and spark that had been lacking in some of her later books had returned in full force.
But I was still left wondering: why? Anne Rice did made a living out writing about characters that go about trying to prove God doesn’t exist. Her books had been incredibly angry towards God and Christianity in particular.
Now here she was writing about the life of Jesus Christ. There is a lengthy authors note in the back of Christ the Lord - Out of Egypt, but I was still left with questions. Though Out of Egypt and The Road to Cana were her best books in years, possibly the best books of her entire career, why did she make such a drastic change?
We finally have an answer.
That answer arrives in Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession. It is Rice’s first memoir and first work of non-fiction. It also seeks to explain her spiritual transformation that resulted in an incredible change in her literary career.
Rice begins the memoir by telling us of her strict Catholic upbringing. How she was surrounded by God and the Church and Catholicism. How she was required to go to church every day and be thankful for God, though he was cruel and vengeful.
What is most interesting, however, is when Rice begins to talk of her years at college and how her strict Catholic upbringing does not fit into her new life away from home. The struggle that Rice goes through to hold on to her relationship with God while being confronted with the normalcy of life outside the Catholic church is truly harrowing.
You feel for her as she struggles internally with what she feels inside and what she sees and experiences all around her. I actually found myself moved emotionally when Rice decides there is no God, that there is no Christ, and becomes an atheist.
And yet, though she claimed not to believe in God, each of Rice’s novels prior to her new relationship with God as a Catholic, has to do with God and those who seek him. Each of her novels featured those who are constantly searching for a bliss they do not feel in their souls.
Through out all those years, she was really a closet Christian, a woman obsessed with God but unwilling to admit it to herself. It takes something miraculous to bring her back to the Catholic Church.
And back to God.
Now, I am not a Christian. I don’t normally read what I would call Christian books. They don’t appeal to me, they don’t interest me and I normally pass them by in the bookstore. In fact, they usually make me slightly uncomfortable.
There are a few reasons for this. Like Rice, I grew up in an incredibly religious home. I was subjected to rules and regulations that were all dictated by the Church. God seemed to be filled with more hate than love, more vengeance then forgiveness. My church at the time and my family were not able to show me a God capable of love.
I moved away from the Catholic Church as soon as I could.
After much searching, found a spirituality that suited me, that sated the need for spirituality I had. But I still get a sour taste in my mouth when I think of Christianity. Regretfully, it is my families’ skewed version of Christianity that always comes to the light first.
All that to say: I don’t normally read what I would call Christian books. However, Called out of Darkness is beyond wonderful. The same beautiful writing that shines on the pages of Christ the Lord - Out of Egypt and Christ the Lord - The Road to Cana graces the pages of Called Out of Darkness in abundance.
But the most beautiful thing about Called Out of Darkness is that Rice makes the distinction between God and the Church. One of the most beautiful parts of Called Out of Darkness is when Rice laments her lost relationship with God and realizes that it has nothing to do with the Church. It all has to do with God and with God’s love.
Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession is an intimate account of Anne Rice’s journey back to Christianity, back to Catholicism. Back to God. It is a story of one woman’s search to find herself in a world that is often confusing.
Called Out of Darkness is an incredible, moving story of one woman’s search for who she is and what she believes. It is the story of one woman who searched for, and found, her spirit.
More than that, Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Journey is a beautiful, haunting book. Regardless of whether or not you are a Christian, or have even read any of Anne Rice’s books about Jesus Christ, read this book.
Your spirit will thank you for it.
December 29, 2008
I've never read a book by Anne Rice, and nor do I have any particular interest in her, but I picked this book up because I always enjoy a good spiritual autobiography, and I hoped this would be one. Only about 100 of the 245 pages held much interest or made much of an impact on me, but they held such interest and made such an impact that I give the book a 4 star rating (3.5 if I could).
The first third (or perhaps half) of the story recounts her Catholic childhood in excessive sensory detail and with too little focus, although there were moments of interest. However, I found the next two thirds of the book, particularly as she recounts herself being drawn back to Christ and the Church, much more interesting, and there were even portions that moved me deeply. If the reader can slug through the parts that drag for her (and these will likely vary by reader), I think she will find a pay off in reading Called Out of Darkness.
What particularly struck me was Rice's experience of realizing that she did not have to have her questions answered in order to come to Christ, that no "theological or social question…no social paradox, no historic disaster, no hideous record of injustice or misery…no torment over the fate of this or that atheist or gay friend, no worry for those…ostracized…by…any…church should stand between" her and God. "I didn't have to know how He was going to save the unlettered and the unbaptized, or how He would redeem the conscientious heathen who had never spoken His name. I didn't have to know how my gay friends would find their way to Redemption; or how my hardworking secular humanist friends could or would receive the power of His Saving Grace. I didn't have to know why good people suffered agony or died in pain. He knew. And it was His _knowing_ that overwhelmed me." I think this stood out to me because I believe these are difficulties that keep a great many moderns from surrendering to God, and because the way she wrote this entire passage (which goes on for 2-3 pages) brought home to me that, ultimately, being a Christian begins and ends with allowing oneself to be loved by God. Once we allow ourselves, really allow ourselves, to stop running from the Hound of Heaven, once we refuse to allow any impediment or confusion or question of doctrine to stop us from falling into His open arms, everything else will eventually—not easily, but eventually—fall into place. Refusing to come before we can understand or accept all, refusing to embrace Him before we can embrace some particular doctrine, as Rice says, missing the point: "In the moment of surrender, I let go of all the…questions which had kept me from Him for countless years. I simply let them go. There was the sense, profound and wordless, that if He knew everything I did not have to know everything, and that, in seeking to know everything, I'd been, all of my life, missing the entire point."
After insisting repeatedly that she wants to avoid all religious politics and religious controversies, Anne Rice concludes by asking, in effect, why can't we just look at traditional Christian teachings on sex as being as outmoded and irrelevant to Christianity as the old belief that the sun revolved around the earth? So much for avoiding religious controversies. This suggestion she builds up to slowly, with some timidity, and much insistence that it is not something she wants to focus on. Yet it seems all of her talk of gender (much of which was interesting to me as someone who had a similar "genderless" experience of childhood), has actually been building up to this "suggestion." I wish, rather, that she had avoided religious political controversies as she had claimed she desired to do, and stuck to the spiritual journey until the very end. This small objection aside (and her theology itself is decidedly pro-creedal and pro-canonical), and after ploughing through the duller parts, all in all, it was a successful spiritual autobiography, achieving its purpose of moving me, as a reader, with the desire to grow closer to God myself. It has also led me to desire to read her novels on Christ.
The first third (or perhaps half) of the story recounts her Catholic childhood in excessive sensory detail and with too little focus, although there were moments of interest. However, I found the next two thirds of the book, particularly as she recounts herself being drawn back to Christ and the Church, much more interesting, and there were even portions that moved me deeply. If the reader can slug through the parts that drag for her (and these will likely vary by reader), I think she will find a pay off in reading Called Out of Darkness.
What particularly struck me was Rice's experience of realizing that she did not have to have her questions answered in order to come to Christ, that no "theological or social question…no social paradox, no historic disaster, no hideous record of injustice or misery…no torment over the fate of this or that atheist or gay friend, no worry for those…ostracized…by…any…church should stand between" her and God. "I didn't have to know how He was going to save the unlettered and the unbaptized, or how He would redeem the conscientious heathen who had never spoken His name. I didn't have to know how my gay friends would find their way to Redemption; or how my hardworking secular humanist friends could or would receive the power of His Saving Grace. I didn't have to know why good people suffered agony or died in pain. He knew. And it was His _knowing_ that overwhelmed me." I think this stood out to me because I believe these are difficulties that keep a great many moderns from surrendering to God, and because the way she wrote this entire passage (which goes on for 2-3 pages) brought home to me that, ultimately, being a Christian begins and ends with allowing oneself to be loved by God. Once we allow ourselves, really allow ourselves, to stop running from the Hound of Heaven, once we refuse to allow any impediment or confusion or question of doctrine to stop us from falling into His open arms, everything else will eventually—not easily, but eventually—fall into place. Refusing to come before we can understand or accept all, refusing to embrace Him before we can embrace some particular doctrine, as Rice says, missing the point: "In the moment of surrender, I let go of all the…questions which had kept me from Him for countless years. I simply let them go. There was the sense, profound and wordless, that if He knew everything I did not have to know everything, and that, in seeking to know everything, I'd been, all of my life, missing the entire point."
After insisting repeatedly that she wants to avoid all religious politics and religious controversies, Anne Rice concludes by asking, in effect, why can't we just look at traditional Christian teachings on sex as being as outmoded and irrelevant to Christianity as the old belief that the sun revolved around the earth? So much for avoiding religious controversies. This suggestion she builds up to slowly, with some timidity, and much insistence that it is not something she wants to focus on. Yet it seems all of her talk of gender (much of which was interesting to me as someone who had a similar "genderless" experience of childhood), has actually been building up to this "suggestion." I wish, rather, that she had avoided religious political controversies as she had claimed she desired to do, and stuck to the spiritual journey until the very end. This small objection aside (and her theology itself is decidedly pro-creedal and pro-canonical), and after ploughing through the duller parts, all in all, it was a successful spiritual autobiography, achieving its purpose of moving me, as a reader, with the desire to grow closer to God myself. It has also led me to desire to read her novels on Christ.
June 30, 2019
Read: June 2019
I hesitated between a four and five star rating for this book. Anne Rice was one of the biggest influences in my teenage years and Pandora, Blackwood Farm and the Mayfair Witch trilogy remain some of my favourite novels. I even managed to include Merrick in my university dissertation when I wrote about the role of women in gothic fiction in my early twenties.
I haven’t read any of her recent novels because I felt as though her more recent offerings wouldn’t be able to compare to her earlier works. Having finished Called out of Darkness this morning I will definitely start reading Anne Rice’s fiction again. She writes so beautifully and vividly here, and it is painfully clear how much she’s struggled with both Catholicism and atheism over the decades.
It’s not quite a five star book for me; the detailed descriptions of the churches she attended as a child seemed to go on and on and I ended up skim reading some of those pages. However from the point at which she describes going to college onwards, I read this book so quickly. I couldn’t put it down!
Obviously the book is based around Anne’s return to religion but I felt there were certain events that weren’t really fleshed out that as a fan I would like to have read more about. A life threatening illness that almost killed her was dealt with in about two sentences, for example.
Overall I loved reading Called out of Darkness and although I borrowed this copy from the library, I’m sure I’m going to end up buying one to keep on my bookshelves in the future.
I hesitated between a four and five star rating for this book. Anne Rice was one of the biggest influences in my teenage years and Pandora, Blackwood Farm and the Mayfair Witch trilogy remain some of my favourite novels. I even managed to include Merrick in my university dissertation when I wrote about the role of women in gothic fiction in my early twenties.
I haven’t read any of her recent novels because I felt as though her more recent offerings wouldn’t be able to compare to her earlier works. Having finished Called out of Darkness this morning I will definitely start reading Anne Rice’s fiction again. She writes so beautifully and vividly here, and it is painfully clear how much she’s struggled with both Catholicism and atheism over the decades.
It’s not quite a five star book for me; the detailed descriptions of the churches she attended as a child seemed to go on and on and I ended up skim reading some of those pages. However from the point at which she describes going to college onwards, I read this book so quickly. I couldn’t put it down!
Obviously the book is based around Anne’s return to religion but I felt there were certain events that weren’t really fleshed out that as a fan I would like to have read more about. A life threatening illness that almost killed her was dealt with in about two sentences, for example.
Overall I loved reading Called out of Darkness and although I borrowed this copy from the library, I’m sure I’m going to end up buying one to keep on my bookshelves in the future.
February 15, 2009
Memoir of the author's growing up in a devout Catholic family in New Orleans, then drifting away from the church as a young adult in the 60's over her social views at odds with the church's teachings, then dramatically returning ("converting" as she says) to Catholicism after a 38-year hiatus.
The U-shaped trajectory of engagement with organized religion over the lifespan is not at all uncommon, but the length of time she was away and the intensity of her involvement now are. Also, she didn't return just after having kids or getting married or experiencing any of the tragedies of her life (daughter died in childhood, for instance) -- just dawned on her that she loved God and loved Jesus and wanted to devote her life to him, by this account.
Many people of liberal social views struggle to reconcile their politics and their Catholicism -- the author's resolution was interesting in that she says she more or less ignored anything unsavory about the church. I have a gay son and gay friends and they teach that it's a sinful lifestyle? No problem, ignore it. I think women should be fully equal in the church and they're not? Ignore it. Maybe someday it will change. Pedophilia scandal among priests -- just don't read that stuff. She satisfied herself that all was well at the top anyhow by reading bios of recent popes and becoming convinced that they were good pious men.
Anyway, interesting for me [having gone to Catholic schools through high school:] to read about a pre-Vatican II Catholic coming to terms with all the changes ("hey, these prayers are in English; what's up with that?").
She's candid about how the conversion affected her fiction writing (i.e., sounds like it stopped the vampire novels in their tracks, supporting the fears expressed by George Orwell in reviewing Graham Greene, that once a novelist becomes adamantly Catholic they won't write about anything else).
My low rating for the book had mainly to do with the writing itself, in particular:
(a) the singular focus on her religious involvement -- I understand that's the theme, but there are many passing references to aspects of her life (her own late-life diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes, her daughter's death, her having 49 employees [what does a novelist do with 49 employees?:], her gay son, living near Haight-Ashbury in the late 60's) that could profitably have been elaborated in lieu of such a tremendously detailed account of what nun said what when in her grade school.
(b) unedited repetition. Even she seems to realize she's repeating herself way too much -- I can't recall any book I've read with so many "As I mentioned before..." "I already said this, but it's important, so let me stress that....." and the like.
The U-shaped trajectory of engagement with organized religion over the lifespan is not at all uncommon, but the length of time she was away and the intensity of her involvement now are. Also, she didn't return just after having kids or getting married or experiencing any of the tragedies of her life (daughter died in childhood, for instance) -- just dawned on her that she loved God and loved Jesus and wanted to devote her life to him, by this account.
Many people of liberal social views struggle to reconcile their politics and their Catholicism -- the author's resolution was interesting in that she says she more or less ignored anything unsavory about the church. I have a gay son and gay friends and they teach that it's a sinful lifestyle? No problem, ignore it. I think women should be fully equal in the church and they're not? Ignore it. Maybe someday it will change. Pedophilia scandal among priests -- just don't read that stuff. She satisfied herself that all was well at the top anyhow by reading bios of recent popes and becoming convinced that they were good pious men.
Anyway, interesting for me [having gone to Catholic schools through high school:] to read about a pre-Vatican II Catholic coming to terms with all the changes ("hey, these prayers are in English; what's up with that?").
She's candid about how the conversion affected her fiction writing (i.e., sounds like it stopped the vampire novels in their tracks, supporting the fears expressed by George Orwell in reviewing Graham Greene, that once a novelist becomes adamantly Catholic they won't write about anything else).
My low rating for the book had mainly to do with the writing itself, in particular:
(a) the singular focus on her religious involvement -- I understand that's the theme, but there are many passing references to aspects of her life (her own late-life diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes, her daughter's death, her having 49 employees [what does a novelist do with 49 employees?:], her gay son, living near Haight-Ashbury in the late 60's) that could profitably have been elaborated in lieu of such a tremendously detailed account of what nun said what when in her grade school.
(b) unedited repetition. Even she seems to realize she's repeating herself way too much -- I can't recall any book I've read with so many "As I mentioned before..." "I already said this, but it's important, so let me stress that....." and the like.
January 31, 2015
So, how do I review this book? Knowing that in the past few years, Anne Rice has stepped away from any kind of organized religion, even to say she has "quit" being a Christian?
Well, it is a great book, a great calling back to a faith that is the pillar of who we are (whether or not we want to admit it).
By Rice's very own admissions, this call back to Christ was clearly going to be incredibly difficult - a road not easy to follow - a path wrought with strife. I guess the strife got her in the end (or not necessarily in the end, but has won her back for a while).
But - I do not feel that fact diminishes the value of the book and what she writes of her journey. As she wrote her vampire novels in the 70's and 80's she gallops through the descriptions of her faith in her youth and brings them alive for her reader.
Her mother (an alcoholic that eventually lost her life to the disease) would tell her every morning to get up and go to mass - "He is waiting for you on that altar". Rice's devotion to the eucharist and the incarnation is beautiful and brings that beauty to the reader, and, in all honesty, reminds me of my own assured belief (that I often cannot explain logically or coherently to non-believers). But I know this devotion, in the receiving myself, the wondering if I am worthy to do so on any given day, the absolute overwhelming feeling I had the first time I served others the eucharist, the bringing it to the homebound, teen and elderly alike, who called, themselves, to the parish offices asking if they could please receive Christ at home.
I kept waiting for Anne rice to go into depth with her specific struggles, but she did right by making this a book that can call others out of their own darkness by not making it too personal.
There is an incredible beauty to the descriptions of her Catholic traditions in New Orleans in the late 40's and 50's which makes me want to read more about New Orleans in this period.
Rice connects much of her subsequent writing to the obvious faith journey during her 35+ years of atheism - something that looking back I clearly see as well in Lestat.
She describes her obliviousness of her youth and young adulthood to issues of gender, race and social classes as unusual, but I suspect it was part of her true Christian upbringing to see no limit for anyone, to see all as accepted and all as having value. I wasn't surprised by her noting this, as I feel the same way and I am sometimes offended when others insist I am avoiding the realities of life, I see much more hope and promise in the world and in people, but I am aware of the injustices of the world.
It wasn't until more than halfway through the book did I feel the need to get out the pencil and start marking up pages. The very first quote I underlined was "I held out against God and I held out against the Church because I thought I was holding out for bitter truth." This struck me deeply as I felt pained for the many people in the world who believe they are doing just this. When she contemplates God's omnipotence she realized she was missing the entire point of trying to know 'everything' herself. Aren't we all missing the point, at least some of the time? She speaks of God's 'knowing' being overwhelming, referring back to the Big Bang, evolution and more, it is more than we can understand as we work decade by decade to know piece by piece more, her reverence and amazement are palpable and she puts to words what I often feel.
Rice writes how "words fail" to be able to describe all she was experiencing and beginning to comprehend and she come back to the key component of love being the way to follow God, and reminds us again that this is not easy, nor comfortable. It was not an escape into consolation or a "collapsing into happiness". She points out how wrong people are who think that converting to Christianity is "a falling into simplicity; a falling from intellect into an emotional refuge; an attempt to feel good". I agree with her, when you discover, come to or are pulled into your belief in Christ, true belief that you cannot deny (and sometimes you want to) you are not in for an easy road.
I love that she makes a point to say she always chose to sit in the front pew (as I do with my kids when I can) not for the sake of being seen or feeling important - but for the want of no distractions, nothing separating oneself from the ritual and worship and preparing to receive Christ. And I love how she notates two passages of the Nicene Creed to be enough to contemplate for the rest of her life. I find myself thinking about that during the Eucharistic Prayer, especially the words "like the dewfall"- wrap your mind around that one and you will find yourself in the dual worlds of Christianity and Buddhism combined for quite some time.
And then she really got into the meat of it all (at this point we are 20 pages from the end) the real question of what we are being called to - the commitment Christ is requiring - the call to more than we bargained for - to live for him. Rice expresses fear at this realization that up until then she was seeking for herself in all this - now she realizes she is being sought by God as well. She talks about fear at this point - and it can be fear. I feel that fear often. It is the call to 'death of self' and to service of others. Are we really ready for that? I know I am not (though sometimes I feel like I am getting closer) and then the other shoe drops and she realizes the most difficult requirement of all in following Christ. Loving others. Really loving them. Loving enemies, loving those who have been unkind to you, loving the convicted murder, praying for and doing for others when it is inconvenient, uncomfortable, distracting, time-consuming, etc. Being kind, no unkindnesses, no rudeness, no ridicule, no gossip, no judgment (we all know we are all judging all the time). This is where Rice sees her greatest failings and her greatest calling.
In all, I appreciated she did not domesticate Jesus (making him fit more comfortably and 'nicely' into life). I appreciate how she studied and holds her own views on scripture and I truly appreciated how she esteemed the Gospel of Matthew as the gospel that holds the key to it all (I was just discussing this exact point with a friend today over lunch!). She talks about the power of realizing that God became a child AMONG us, the amazing choice that Mary and Joseph made to be the Holy Family (just as we all have choices) how so much of what she learned helped her to realize the Christ was the fulfillment of much more than Jewish prophecies and that scripture became mysterious, inexhaustible and powerful - the living word - for her through all this 'work' on her part, and the grace she had been given by God.
She recognizes the courage to follow Jesus - "I am convinced that it takes immense courage to remain in a church where one is surrounded by hostile voices..."
All this time she is oblivious to the politics of the Church, she notes this in her last chapter - that she recognizes to keep her focus on Christ and try to ignore the failings of the church. I do not agree with this sentiment, I think we must be cognizant of the failings we can work to overcome, to lessen or to work around until they can be rectified. This hope to ignore them is most assuredly her weak point that has led to her stepping away from the beautiful and ancient Catholic Church that was so clearly her faith home, for that I feel sorry for her.
I also suspect her relocation away from her comfortable faith family also put pressure on her to fall away. I do wonder if the call of mammon, the overwhelming popularity of all things vampire, her son's interest in writing with her and her California location (a very young parish) contributed to her loss of the pillars of strength she had found before. I hope, for her sake, and for the call she recognized to write for God, that she will find her way back to her faith when she is ready.
As a final note, I very much realize my need to keep reading books like these, they remind me of my own calling, they demonstrate how people like "me" find or don't lose sight of God in our overwhelmingly secular world. Thank you Anne Rice!
Well, it is a great book, a great calling back to a faith that is the pillar of who we are (whether or not we want to admit it).
By Rice's very own admissions, this call back to Christ was clearly going to be incredibly difficult - a road not easy to follow - a path wrought with strife. I guess the strife got her in the end (or not necessarily in the end, but has won her back for a while).
But - I do not feel that fact diminishes the value of the book and what she writes of her journey. As she wrote her vampire novels in the 70's and 80's she gallops through the descriptions of her faith in her youth and brings them alive for her reader.
Her mother (an alcoholic that eventually lost her life to the disease) would tell her every morning to get up and go to mass - "He is waiting for you on that altar". Rice's devotion to the eucharist and the incarnation is beautiful and brings that beauty to the reader, and, in all honesty, reminds me of my own assured belief (that I often cannot explain logically or coherently to non-believers). But I know this devotion, in the receiving myself, the wondering if I am worthy to do so on any given day, the absolute overwhelming feeling I had the first time I served others the eucharist, the bringing it to the homebound, teen and elderly alike, who called, themselves, to the parish offices asking if they could please receive Christ at home.
I kept waiting for Anne rice to go into depth with her specific struggles, but she did right by making this a book that can call others out of their own darkness by not making it too personal.
There is an incredible beauty to the descriptions of her Catholic traditions in New Orleans in the late 40's and 50's which makes me want to read more about New Orleans in this period.
Rice connects much of her subsequent writing to the obvious faith journey during her 35+ years of atheism - something that looking back I clearly see as well in Lestat.
She describes her obliviousness of her youth and young adulthood to issues of gender, race and social classes as unusual, but I suspect it was part of her true Christian upbringing to see no limit for anyone, to see all as accepted and all as having value. I wasn't surprised by her noting this, as I feel the same way and I am sometimes offended when others insist I am avoiding the realities of life, I see much more hope and promise in the world and in people, but I am aware of the injustices of the world.
It wasn't until more than halfway through the book did I feel the need to get out the pencil and start marking up pages. The very first quote I underlined was "I held out against God and I held out against the Church because I thought I was holding out for bitter truth." This struck me deeply as I felt pained for the many people in the world who believe they are doing just this. When she contemplates God's omnipotence she realized she was missing the entire point of trying to know 'everything' herself. Aren't we all missing the point, at least some of the time? She speaks of God's 'knowing' being overwhelming, referring back to the Big Bang, evolution and more, it is more than we can understand as we work decade by decade to know piece by piece more, her reverence and amazement are palpable and she puts to words what I often feel.
Rice writes how "words fail" to be able to describe all she was experiencing and beginning to comprehend and she come back to the key component of love being the way to follow God, and reminds us again that this is not easy, nor comfortable. It was not an escape into consolation or a "collapsing into happiness". She points out how wrong people are who think that converting to Christianity is "a falling into simplicity; a falling from intellect into an emotional refuge; an attempt to feel good". I agree with her, when you discover, come to or are pulled into your belief in Christ, true belief that you cannot deny (and sometimes you want to) you are not in for an easy road.
I love that she makes a point to say she always chose to sit in the front pew (as I do with my kids when I can) not for the sake of being seen or feeling important - but for the want of no distractions, nothing separating oneself from the ritual and worship and preparing to receive Christ. And I love how she notates two passages of the Nicene Creed to be enough to contemplate for the rest of her life. I find myself thinking about that during the Eucharistic Prayer, especially the words "like the dewfall"- wrap your mind around that one and you will find yourself in the dual worlds of Christianity and Buddhism combined for quite some time.
And then she really got into the meat of it all (at this point we are 20 pages from the end) the real question of what we are being called to - the commitment Christ is requiring - the call to more than we bargained for - to live for him. Rice expresses fear at this realization that up until then she was seeking for herself in all this - now she realizes she is being sought by God as well. She talks about fear at this point - and it can be fear. I feel that fear often. It is the call to 'death of self' and to service of others. Are we really ready for that? I know I am not (though sometimes I feel like I am getting closer) and then the other shoe drops and she realizes the most difficult requirement of all in following Christ. Loving others. Really loving them. Loving enemies, loving those who have been unkind to you, loving the convicted murder, praying for and doing for others when it is inconvenient, uncomfortable, distracting, time-consuming, etc. Being kind, no unkindnesses, no rudeness, no ridicule, no gossip, no judgment (we all know we are all judging all the time). This is where Rice sees her greatest failings and her greatest calling.
In all, I appreciated she did not domesticate Jesus (making him fit more comfortably and 'nicely' into life). I appreciate how she studied and holds her own views on scripture and I truly appreciated how she esteemed the Gospel of Matthew as the gospel that holds the key to it all (I was just discussing this exact point with a friend today over lunch!). She talks about the power of realizing that God became a child AMONG us, the amazing choice that Mary and Joseph made to be the Holy Family (just as we all have choices) how so much of what she learned helped her to realize the Christ was the fulfillment of much more than Jewish prophecies and that scripture became mysterious, inexhaustible and powerful - the living word - for her through all this 'work' on her part, and the grace she had been given by God.
She recognizes the courage to follow Jesus - "I am convinced that it takes immense courage to remain in a church where one is surrounded by hostile voices..."
All this time she is oblivious to the politics of the Church, she notes this in her last chapter - that she recognizes to keep her focus on Christ and try to ignore the failings of the church. I do not agree with this sentiment, I think we must be cognizant of the failings we can work to overcome, to lessen or to work around until they can be rectified. This hope to ignore them is most assuredly her weak point that has led to her stepping away from the beautiful and ancient Catholic Church that was so clearly her faith home, for that I feel sorry for her.
I also suspect her relocation away from her comfortable faith family also put pressure on her to fall away. I do wonder if the call of mammon, the overwhelming popularity of all things vampire, her son's interest in writing with her and her California location (a very young parish) contributed to her loss of the pillars of strength she had found before. I hope, for her sake, and for the call she recognized to write for God, that she will find her way back to her faith when she is ready.
As a final note, I very much realize my need to keep reading books like these, they remind me of my own calling, they demonstrate how people like "me" find or don't lose sight of God in our overwhelmingly secular world. Thank you Anne Rice!
November 13, 2008
I'm proudly 52-- indeed, almost 53-- and am happy to realize that my life experience amounts to something: after all these long years, I know to give things a chance. My favorite earlier works by Ms. Rice were "Cry to Heaven" and the books about the Mayfair witches; I found the latter series evocative and spooky and just very engrossing! I could disappear into the atmosphere that swirled around those books, and hated to see them end.
Being a practicing Catholic (which means that, hopefully, I'll get it right one day...), I was drawn to "Christ the Lord." I found the first two books very moving and affirming: Ms. Rice captures Christ's humanity in the most beautiful, clear way. One of my cherished sequences occurs in "Road to Cana," during the exchange between Him and his Mother. It's so simple and gorgeous-- and dead on.
Those of you who have decried her "Christ" works without reading them should give them a try. If you're unwilling to read them because they spring from her active return to her faith (after all, once a Catholic, always a Catholic), then read them as great literature. Her descriptions of the land of the Bible are especially beautiful, and I feel that she expertly captures the essence of the time and the place.
And finally, for those ready to judge Ms. Rice without considering her artistic and religious decisions--read the new autobiography.
Thank you !
Being a practicing Catholic (which means that, hopefully, I'll get it right one day...), I was drawn to "Christ the Lord." I found the first two books very moving and affirming: Ms. Rice captures Christ's humanity in the most beautiful, clear way. One of my cherished sequences occurs in "Road to Cana," during the exchange between Him and his Mother. It's so simple and gorgeous-- and dead on.
Those of you who have decried her "Christ" works without reading them should give them a try. If you're unwilling to read them because they spring from her active return to her faith (after all, once a Catholic, always a Catholic), then read them as great literature. Her descriptions of the land of the Bible are especially beautiful, and I feel that she expertly captures the essence of the time and the place.
And finally, for those ready to judge Ms. Rice without considering her artistic and religious decisions--read the new autobiography.
Thank you !
December 23, 2017
I love hearing others stories and journeys. I found her voice is to be incredibly powerful.
April 3, 2013
Our library has the most charming annex, The Pond House, where used books and an assortment of other used library materials are sold at ridiculously low prices. After visiting the annual book sale, I suggested we drop in to see what was on hand at The Pond House.
That day there was a plethora of memoirs for $1-$2, and I picked up several. Among them was Anne Rice's memoir, Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession.
Rice's story chronicles her life in and out of the Catholic church from her childhood in New Orleans to the writing of her memoir in 2008.
The beauty of the church building where her family attended Mass and the words she heard in the liturgy fascinated Rice as a young girl.
So fascinated she, Anne Rice at age 12, announced to her parish priest her wish to be a priest. Not only did Fr. Steffen attempt to make short work of his explanation to her by stating only boys could become priests, he told Anne that there had been a time when theologians were not sure if women had souls. Anne never forgot his words, even though she thought later he may have mumbled to himself.
Fleeting thoughts toyed with becoming a nun, but this too quickly dissipated as something Rice felt unsuited to explore.
Fast forward to the 1960s and college and yes, the Vietnam War and the hippie generation. Anne finds herself confronted by many mindsets: some opposed to religion, some starting up new belief systems in or out of the church, drug use, diametrically opposed political views on everything, and the war in Vietnam rages. All in all, a confusing time.
During this time, Anne meets, falls in love with and marries her husband, Stan. And together, they begin a home and later a family.
As a result of the antithesis of her childhood faith and life as a young adult, Anne moves away from the church and God. She declares herself an atheist. Her descriptions of her feelings during this time are highly emotional, fraught with darkness, a strong belief in the rightness of it, and yet an unidentified longing that persists.
Through several years of writing her graphic Gothic novels, she is highly successful but not completely happy. It is during one of her darkest times that she comes to the realization that she might not have agreed with the church, but she never stopped loving God and wanting Him in her life.
Here begins her call out of the darkness and on a new and reviving journey. Rice has told the story that many of us living through the 1960s and 1970s could probably share. However, hers is rich in Catholic tradition and steeped in the history of New Orleans, a city strongly populated with Catholics. A tale of growing disenchanted seems not so unexpected.
The turning and transformation in her life is unexpected as she commits to giving up the genre of writing that has made her so successful.
I will leave my review here for if you have not read Anne Rice's memoir, I do not want to spoil its richness by giving away too much. It is a book I shall read again and perhaps again with as much interest and joy as my first read brought.
That day there was a plethora of memoirs for $1-$2, and I picked up several. Among them was Anne Rice's memoir, Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession.
Rice's story chronicles her life in and out of the Catholic church from her childhood in New Orleans to the writing of her memoir in 2008.
The beauty of the church building where her family attended Mass and the words she heard in the liturgy fascinated Rice as a young girl.
So fascinated she, Anne Rice at age 12, announced to her parish priest her wish to be a priest. Not only did Fr. Steffen attempt to make short work of his explanation to her by stating only boys could become priests, he told Anne that there had been a time when theologians were not sure if women had souls. Anne never forgot his words, even though she thought later he may have mumbled to himself.
Fleeting thoughts toyed with becoming a nun, but this too quickly dissipated as something Rice felt unsuited to explore.
Fast forward to the 1960s and college and yes, the Vietnam War and the hippie generation. Anne finds herself confronted by many mindsets: some opposed to religion, some starting up new belief systems in or out of the church, drug use, diametrically opposed political views on everything, and the war in Vietnam rages. All in all, a confusing time.
During this time, Anne meets, falls in love with and marries her husband, Stan. And together, they begin a home and later a family.
As a result of the antithesis of her childhood faith and life as a young adult, Anne moves away from the church and God. She declares herself an atheist. Her descriptions of her feelings during this time are highly emotional, fraught with darkness, a strong belief in the rightness of it, and yet an unidentified longing that persists.
Through several years of writing her graphic Gothic novels, she is highly successful but not completely happy. It is during one of her darkest times that she comes to the realization that she might not have agreed with the church, but she never stopped loving God and wanting Him in her life.
Here begins her call out of the darkness and on a new and reviving journey. Rice has told the story that many of us living through the 1960s and 1970s could probably share. However, hers is rich in Catholic tradition and steeped in the history of New Orleans, a city strongly populated with Catholics. A tale of growing disenchanted seems not so unexpected.
The turning and transformation in her life is unexpected as she commits to giving up the genre of writing that has made her so successful.
I will leave my review here for if you have not read Anne Rice's memoir, I do not want to spoil its richness by giving away too much. It is a book I shall read again and perhaps again with as much interest and joy as my first read brought.
April 20, 2009
Anne Rice recalls the sights and sounds of the Catholicism of her youth with such vivid images that I was singing "Tan tum ergo, sacramentum..." along with her. Warning: If you aren't a 50 something Catholic, (or recovering Catholic) you might not "get it".
I completed the book in a weekend and was fascinated by how Anne Rice describes her inner landscape and how her conversion experience has changed everything for her. She makes a strong case for the power of art and music and truth. She surrenders to beauty and love, and finds herself loving a perfect God and an imperfect church.
With the wash of memories unleashed by this book, I recalled a "May crowning ceremony" where at age 7 and wearing my white communion dress, I was happily the third "Hail Mary" in the human rosary. The prayers concluded as one very lucky 8th grade girl was selected to place a crown of flowers on the statue of the "Queen of Heaven". How I longed to play that special role! But alas, Vatican II happened sometime between my second and eighth grade year, and much pageantry ended. Anne's memoir prompts a longing for all manner of Santos and torches and song.
I completed the book in a weekend and was fascinated by how Anne Rice describes her inner landscape and how her conversion experience has changed everything for her. She makes a strong case for the power of art and music and truth. She surrenders to beauty and love, and finds herself loving a perfect God and an imperfect church.
With the wash of memories unleashed by this book, I recalled a "May crowning ceremony" where at age 7 and wearing my white communion dress, I was happily the third "Hail Mary" in the human rosary. The prayers concluded as one very lucky 8th grade girl was selected to place a crown of flowers on the statue of the "Queen of Heaven". How I longed to play that special role! But alas, Vatican II happened sometime between my second and eighth grade year, and much pageantry ended. Anne's memoir prompts a longing for all manner of Santos and torches and song.
September 9, 2014
Meh. Sure this lady can write, but sheesh, she can also drone. I had to take a break from this book because I was so dulled by it. She evaded a lot, and talked mostly about her childhood, and not anything that I was particularly interested. I learned a great deal about her love of architecture and her inability to read, but I didn't learn much else. It all felt very surface level and nothing was deep or probing. She'd plunge into something interesting--like her mother--and then she'd back off before she got anywhere. However, she'd talk for about 15 pages about a statue she found. The book needed an editor to give her story shape. It all felt very disjointed.
February 10, 2020
Putting aside the rather creepy cover, this was a moderately interesting book about Anne Rice, the queen of vampires, and her spiritual journey.
Although I'm very happy that Anne Rice has found her peace and is significantly happier having returned to the Catholic faith of her youth, I can't say it has improved her fiction. The few recent books I've read of hers have just been lifeless compared to the emotional extremes of her vampire heyday.
Nonetheless, Anne Rice is still what I shall call a "good Catholic"--not dogmatic, not holier-than-thou, quite earnest and flexible.
Some interesting quotes:
I came out of childhood with no sense of gender, no sense of being handicapped by being a woman, because I had no sense of myself as a woman. I soon caught on in adolescence that there were tremendous liabilities to being a girl. -- I can't really explain how, but this statement colours her fiction in a new way for me. I can definitely see echoes of this sentiment in her writing.
On whether she is a "prodigal daughter" in returning to Catholicism: I feel no guilt for anything I ever wrote. The sincerity of my writing removes them completely from what I hold to be sin. I also feel no real contrition for my years as an atheist, because my departure from the church was not only painful, but also completely sincere.
Sin, for me, resides in those acts of cruelty, both spectacular and small, both deliberate and careless, but always involving the hurt, the real hurt, of another human being.
I myself am haunted by destructive things that were said to me when I was a child and over the course of my adult life. I can think of some things said to me when I was ten years old and feel exquisite pain remembering how humiliated or hurt I felt. What that means to me, however, is not only that I must forgive each and every instance, but that I must admit that my own words and actions may still be hurting people who can remember them from numberless instances over sixty-six years. All that failure to love.
Although I'm very happy that Anne Rice has found her peace and is significantly happier having returned to the Catholic faith of her youth, I can't say it has improved her fiction. The few recent books I've read of hers have just been lifeless compared to the emotional extremes of her vampire heyday.
Nonetheless, Anne Rice is still what I shall call a "good Catholic"--not dogmatic, not holier-than-thou, quite earnest and flexible.
Some interesting quotes:
I came out of childhood with no sense of gender, no sense of being handicapped by being a woman, because I had no sense of myself as a woman. I soon caught on in adolescence that there were tremendous liabilities to being a girl. -- I can't really explain how, but this statement colours her fiction in a new way for me. I can definitely see echoes of this sentiment in her writing.
On whether she is a "prodigal daughter" in returning to Catholicism: I feel no guilt for anything I ever wrote. The sincerity of my writing removes them completely from what I hold to be sin. I also feel no real contrition for my years as an atheist, because my departure from the church was not only painful, but also completely sincere.
Sin, for me, resides in those acts of cruelty, both spectacular and small, both deliberate and careless, but always involving the hurt, the real hurt, of another human being.
I myself am haunted by destructive things that were said to me when I was a child and over the course of my adult life. I can think of some things said to me when I was ten years old and feel exquisite pain remembering how humiliated or hurt I felt. What that means to me, however, is not only that I must forgive each and every instance, but that I must admit that my own words and actions may still be hurting people who can remember them from numberless instances over sixty-six years. All that failure to love.
March 25, 2025
as we all know I’m highkey obsessed with Ms Rice and have been making my way through her oeuvre. I wasn’t going to read this - I read Memnoch the Devil so I’m more than aware of her religious reawakening, even if she wasn’t at the time - but Christ the Lord is next in the docket so I thought I should get a feeling for where she’s at.
I know that she ended up walking away from the Church (and thus more batshit crazy Lestat novels were born in the mid 2010s), but I was worried that she would suddenly take a huge left turn into being One Of Those Catholics, and everything I adore about her novels (grey morality, androgyny, gay shit, etc) would be gone. seems like despite being HUGELY into Jesus, she was an a la carte Catholic at heart and still loved gay people, birth control, and supported the idea of women being ordained in the church. go Anne.
ALSO, if she’d be born 50 years later she would SURELY identify as agender or nonbinary. the sections about how she feels about gender were such a surprise!
final thought is that some of this book felt like the bitch put down her pen and turned to face me and was speaking right at me while a giant spotlight illuminated me on a stage where I was tied to a chair. but I’m sure that’s nothing to worry about.
I know that she ended up walking away from the Church (and thus more batshit crazy Lestat novels were born in the mid 2010s), but I was worried that she would suddenly take a huge left turn into being One Of Those Catholics, and everything I adore about her novels (grey morality, androgyny, gay shit, etc) would be gone. seems like despite being HUGELY into Jesus, she was an a la carte Catholic at heart and still loved gay people, birth control, and supported the idea of women being ordained in the church. go Anne.
ALSO, if she’d be born 50 years later she would SURELY identify as agender or nonbinary. the sections about how she feels about gender were such a surprise!
final thought is that some of this book felt like the bitch put down her pen and turned to face me and was speaking right at me while a giant spotlight illuminated me on a stage where I was tied to a chair. but I’m sure that’s nothing to worry about.
December 15, 2013
I finished this wonderful memoir by Anne Rice on our trip home from Christmas in Virginia with our son and his new wife. This book touched me so deeply ... Anne Rice grew up in New Orleans in a family with deep roots in orthodox Christian Catholic traditions. I loved how she tells how her first understanding of God came from the auditory liturgies and the richly visual iconic rituals of the Roman Catholic Church ... not from the written pages of Scripture. In fact she struggled for years to master the skill of reading...
She drifted away from her Catholic roots and her child-like faith in God after her mother died, her father remarried, and they moved away from the secure confines of the decidedly Catholic culture of New Orleans ... and she started college. She turned a corner and determined that there was no God, taking the position of an atheist for the next 38 years. Her descriptions of how God continued to "show up" in her life's journey and draw her back to Himself was so wonderful. She tells of how she determined to dedicate her skills as a writer completely to Christ and was drawn to write a "story" of the life of Christ ... In the fall of 2005 her book, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt was published. It was while researching the New Testament canon and reading and re-reading the Gospels in preparation for writing a "probable fictional world" for this book that she says, "My reading skills improved beyond all expectations; I sought days of study without interruption, and finally long nights in which to complete the book ..."
I was blessed to read of her commitment to the "orthodox doctrine of the Incarnation" ... She calls herself a "Christmas Christian" because of her love and gratitude for, and wonder at the whole amazing mystery of "God become flesh".
While some of her conclusions at the end of the book raised some questions in my mind, I was thoroughly challenged by this book and found the story of her journey so refreshingly honest.
She drifted away from her Catholic roots and her child-like faith in God after her mother died, her father remarried, and they moved away from the secure confines of the decidedly Catholic culture of New Orleans ... and she started college. She turned a corner and determined that there was no God, taking the position of an atheist for the next 38 years. Her descriptions of how God continued to "show up" in her life's journey and draw her back to Himself was so wonderful. She tells of how she determined to dedicate her skills as a writer completely to Christ and was drawn to write a "story" of the life of Christ ... In the fall of 2005 her book, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt was published. It was while researching the New Testament canon and reading and re-reading the Gospels in preparation for writing a "probable fictional world" for this book that she says, "My reading skills improved beyond all expectations; I sought days of study without interruption, and finally long nights in which to complete the book ..."
I was blessed to read of her commitment to the "orthodox doctrine of the Incarnation" ... She calls herself a "Christmas Christian" because of her love and gratitude for, and wonder at the whole amazing mystery of "God become flesh".
While some of her conclusions at the end of the book raised some questions in my mind, I was thoroughly challenged by this book and found the story of her journey so refreshingly honest.
December 14, 2009
I would have given this a 5 star, had it a better ending. She had to include her personal agenda at the end, which was a bit more progressive than I expected from a Roman Catholic. Anyhow, the beginning and middle of the book were fabulous. She told it in a wonderful writers voice full of vivid description. I loved hearing about her childhood and her adult conversion experience of her return to Christ and her Catholic faith. I thought it good that she has read Roman Catholic writers, as well as some protestant writers such as Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life) and N.T.Wright.
Throughout the book she talked of this feeling of being genderless and having been raised somewhat that way. She seems to still be plagued by this. Perhaps as she matures in her relation ship with Christ she will feel more comfortable with how God has both genders and has created us, male and female. It is a mystery of God.
Throughout the book she talked of this feeling of being genderless and having been raised somewhat that way. She seems to still be plagued by this. Perhaps as she matures in her relation ship with Christ she will feel more comfortable with how God has both genders and has created us, male and female. It is a mystery of God.
February 1, 2009
I couldn't bare to finish this book...it was a total lack of organized thoughts...
UGH!!!! WHAT A BORE!!!!! I am only finishing this book out of principle. I've never read Anne Rice's novels because they are my style but I have heard from so many she's fantastic. I was really interested in getting into her head but once I started reading this overbearing book it turned me sour to her writing style! You are so inundates with details you loose site of what she's trying to have her readers see. I can't believe that a writer as seasoned and well-respected wrote such a biography. Maybe I am being to harsh but I find it such a frustrating read. I've skipped over so many pages and still find myself in the same place. The book just doesn't seem to move on. I will finish the book and hopefully by the end I can walk away from the experience a little less jaded. Sorry Ms. Rice. For now, just stick to what you know; vampires. Let someone else tell your story.
UGH!!!! WHAT A BORE!!!!! I am only finishing this book out of principle. I've never read Anne Rice's novels because they are my style but I have heard from so many she's fantastic. I was really interested in getting into her head but once I started reading this overbearing book it turned me sour to her writing style! You are so inundates with details you loose site of what she's trying to have her readers see. I can't believe that a writer as seasoned and well-respected wrote such a biography. Maybe I am being to harsh but I find it such a frustrating read. I've skipped over so many pages and still find myself in the same place. The book just doesn't seem to move on. I will finish the book and hopefully by the end I can walk away from the experience a little less jaded. Sorry Ms. Rice. For now, just stick to what you know; vampires. Let someone else tell your story.
January 11, 2010
The idea of someone choosing atheism for all her adult life and returning to Catholicism in one's 60s is intriguing. I give Rice credit for following her own path.
I'm a former Catholic and current agnostic. I was not as heavily submurged into the Church, so I can't really identify with the love she felt for the life as a child. But, she goes into her trademark languid discriptions. I'd enjoy her books more if they were about 1/3 less in length.
I found it very odd that she barely mentioned the death of her daughter and husband, especially since the subject matter is faith.
I'm a former Catholic and current agnostic. I was not as heavily submurged into the Church, so I can't really identify with the love she felt for the life as a child. But, she goes into her trademark languid discriptions. I'd enjoy her books more if they were about 1/3 less in length.
I found it very odd that she barely mentioned the death of her daughter and husband, especially since the subject matter is faith.
July 13, 2023
Read and reviewed this with a fresh eye. I was grumpy the first time. I had just returned to the RCC and was disappointed that Rice had returned, too, only to leave again. I understand that now.
February 13, 2016
In the first part of this book, I found a kindred spirit. I've known about Anne Rice's return to the Christian faith (orthodox Catholicism), and really found her two novels about Christ to be compelling (see my reviews). I have rarely encountered someone whose childhood faith was so like mine (except that I attended a Lutheran church). Like her, I always felt as a child that Jesus was more real than just a real person who lived in history -- I knew Jesus was really with me, that He loves me with a love that is grace and colors my life with beauty. Church (worship and the church building) intrigued and enriched me. All of this, Anne Rice describes in vivid detail, and recaptured for me in her memoir (even her contrast with the flatness of "Dick and Jane" compared to the richness of the words I heard and learned at church).
Her childhood was pre-Vatican II, so Roman Catholics of a certain generation will relate to the way she experienced and loved the Latin mass, and many of the other aspects of U.S. Catholicism of that era. One thing you encounter in Anne Rice's description of the time that she admits is unusual for recollections of the era is that she has only positive memories of the nuns in her life. The commonly complained about strict, harsh nuns that fill books, plays and conversations were not her experience. She says maybe she was fortunate in that her church and school did not produce what other people report as their experience. She also had several nuns in her family and they were positive role models for her. (Not as women -- Anne Rice's discussion of her feelings about men and women is interesting and I won't disclose her reflections here. They are, however, a good reminder that our childhoods are not cookie-cutter uniform versions of human experience.
An unexpected part of her childhood and young adult years was how difficult it was for her to read. She says that she basically learned by listening. (Obviously she listened carefully to everything said in her church as a preschooler!) She points out her faith preceded reading. She loves Latin and poetry, but she says that she learned to love them by hearing them spoken. The book has many small bits of poetry that she's learned, cited at appropriate moments. As someone who from the first was as inspired by books as by my church, it was fascinating to read about someone who even in college could not read much and yet loved learning, poetry and good discussion of ideas.
Her atheist years have shaped many of her social views. Many Christians, especially orthodox Catholics, may be appalled at her pronouncements (particularly since she clearly identifies herself as an orthodox Catholic). But she discusses this, and comes away with a particularly humble conclusion: she is a relative infant in the faith, and she is not a doctrinal person -- her passion is writing novels. So, she concludes, maybe she has it wrong, but she shares what she believes. And at the bottom of it all, no matter what people think of her or say about her, she believes that it is Christ's will for her to respond in love. Following Jesus means loving neighbors and enemies, and she -- quite rightly -- observes, it is often harder to love family and friends than enemies!
The section of the memoir documenting her return to faith testifies to the relentless love of God which would not let her go. The book is
The narrator of this book, Kirsten Potter, was a perfect choice. Her voice was unobtrusive, yet fresh, clear, and expressive. If you read the hardcover or ebook and didn't enjoy it, give the audiobook (Books on Tape) a try.
This edition includes an interview with Anne Rice that was also enjoyable and illuminating. In the interview she impulsively says that in a way she was a fake atheist. I imagine that statement could be taken out of context and misused. Her memoir makes clear the extent of her atheism for nearly 40 years. But what sets her apart from the more commonly encountered form of atheism was that she grieved the loss of her faith. Her vampire books were intentionally bleak because they were her exploration of a world without God (not a godless world, but a world where something was missing and tragic). Like Augustine (my allusion, not hers) would say, her heart was restless until it found its rest in God. By saying she was a "fake" atheist, she was admitting that her atheism never really was reconciled to the loss of her faith.
Two years after she wrote this book, she announced that she is no longer a Christian. From what I've read, however, she maintains that she hasn't given up on Christ, just the church. Since people evolve, I'm not sure where she is spiritually today as I write this review. For me personally, she had put her finger on something not only with focus on Christ, but also with what she wrote about love. My own family can't meet my expectations, yet I love them and strive to love them. The same for me is true of my church family. I think of how Jesus must think not only of their quirks and evils, but also of mine. I hold to the thought that just as Jesus worshiped with believers of His day, and loves people in every age, calling the church His bride despite its deep flaws, so I too have my quirks and my evil and humbly must strive to love and fellowship with the bride of Christ. Just this morning I said to a friend, "When Luther was young, he pictured God as an angry judge. I think of the Lord as rolling his eyes in frustration at me!" No doubt my faults would be classified as reasons for someone to leave "church" but not "Christ." Still, I believe that loving Christ calls me to hear His voice at church and be His voice -- as much as I am able -- to His people as well as to the world. Anne Rice wrote in this book about the horrible things a minority of people have said and written to her, and she was remarkably mature in recognizing that wicked little group of people seems to crop up in every setting (even, to her grief, among people who enjoy her books). That wicked little group of people (Internet trolls, for example) cannot prevent me from believing in our form of government, or freedom of speech or the simple pleasure of a comedy. Why should I let them stand for Christianity, and turn my back on what has always been for me a spiritual family, with all the obligations, rewards and pains that the word family can be?
I think this would be an excellent book for a book club to discuss!
Her childhood was pre-Vatican II, so Roman Catholics of a certain generation will relate to the way she experienced and loved the Latin mass, and many of the other aspects of U.S. Catholicism of that era. One thing you encounter in Anne Rice's description of the time that she admits is unusual for recollections of the era is that she has only positive memories of the nuns in her life. The commonly complained about strict, harsh nuns that fill books, plays and conversations were not her experience. She says maybe she was fortunate in that her church and school did not produce what other people report as their experience. She also had several nuns in her family and they were positive role models for her. (Not as women -- Anne Rice's discussion of her feelings about men and women is interesting and I won't disclose her reflections here. They are, however, a good reminder that our childhoods are not cookie-cutter uniform versions of human experience.
An unexpected part of her childhood and young adult years was how difficult it was for her to read. She says that she basically learned by listening. (Obviously she listened carefully to everything said in her church as a preschooler!) She points out her faith preceded reading. She loves Latin and poetry, but she says that she learned to love them by hearing them spoken. The book has many small bits of poetry that she's learned, cited at appropriate moments. As someone who from the first was as inspired by books as by my church, it was fascinating to read about someone who even in college could not read much and yet loved learning, poetry and good discussion of ideas.
Her atheist years have shaped many of her social views. Many Christians, especially orthodox Catholics, may be appalled at her pronouncements (particularly since she clearly identifies herself as an orthodox Catholic). But she discusses this, and comes away with a particularly humble conclusion: she is a relative infant in the faith, and she is not a doctrinal person -- her passion is writing novels. So, she concludes, maybe she has it wrong, but she shares what she believes. And at the bottom of it all, no matter what people think of her or say about her, she believes that it is Christ's will for her to respond in love. Following Jesus means loving neighbors and enemies, and she -- quite rightly -- observes, it is often harder to love family and friends than enemies!
The section of the memoir documenting her return to faith testifies to the relentless love of God which would not let her go. The book is
The narrator of this book, Kirsten Potter, was a perfect choice. Her voice was unobtrusive, yet fresh, clear, and expressive. If you read the hardcover or ebook and didn't enjoy it, give the audiobook (Books on Tape) a try.
This edition includes an interview with Anne Rice that was also enjoyable and illuminating. In the interview she impulsively says that in a way she was a fake atheist. I imagine that statement could be taken out of context and misused. Her memoir makes clear the extent of her atheism for nearly 40 years. But what sets her apart from the more commonly encountered form of atheism was that she grieved the loss of her faith. Her vampire books were intentionally bleak because they were her exploration of a world without God (not a godless world, but a world where something was missing and tragic). Like Augustine (my allusion, not hers) would say, her heart was restless until it found its rest in God. By saying she was a "fake" atheist, she was admitting that her atheism never really was reconciled to the loss of her faith.
Two years after she wrote this book, she announced that she is no longer a Christian. From what I've read, however, she maintains that she hasn't given up on Christ, just the church. Since people evolve, I'm not sure where she is spiritually today as I write this review. For me personally, she had put her finger on something not only with focus on Christ, but also with what she wrote about love. My own family can't meet my expectations, yet I love them and strive to love them. The same for me is true of my church family. I think of how Jesus must think not only of their quirks and evils, but also of mine. I hold to the thought that just as Jesus worshiped with believers of His day, and loves people in every age, calling the church His bride despite its deep flaws, so I too have my quirks and my evil and humbly must strive to love and fellowship with the bride of Christ. Just this morning I said to a friend, "When Luther was young, he pictured God as an angry judge. I think of the Lord as rolling his eyes in frustration at me!" No doubt my faults would be classified as reasons for someone to leave "church" but not "Christ." Still, I believe that loving Christ calls me to hear His voice at church and be His voice -- as much as I am able -- to His people as well as to the world. Anne Rice wrote in this book about the horrible things a minority of people have said and written to her, and she was remarkably mature in recognizing that wicked little group of people seems to crop up in every setting (even, to her grief, among people who enjoy her books). That wicked little group of people (Internet trolls, for example) cannot prevent me from believing in our form of government, or freedom of speech or the simple pleasure of a comedy. Why should I let them stand for Christianity, and turn my back on what has always been for me a spiritual family, with all the obligations, rewards and pains that the word family can be?
I think this would be an excellent book for a book club to discuss!
August 29, 2025
I enjoyed her honesty. I’m not catholic so some of that conversation I didn’t relate to but much of it I did. Her gender confusion was something I was expecting. How she wasn’t much of reader until later was crazy to me as well. It’s never too late to follow Jesus.
October 21, 2020
Oh My Goth! This book should be called Bored of Darkness. Not at all what I expected. I tired to listen to the
audiobook but after one hour of my life, that I will never get back, I gave up.
audiobook but after one hour of my life, that I will never get back, I gave up.
November 9, 2025
Really enjoyed hearing about Anne’s life. Some of it was surprising and some of it seems to gloss over some aspects she’s talked about before. Would recommend the audiobook as there is an interview with her at the end.
August 2, 2025
If you want to learn about different churches in New Orleans and what statutes they have where, this might be the book for you. I found it to be boring and pointless. Half way through and she’s still talking about her childhood in Catholic schools.
November 21, 2008
I can imagine many fans of the novels of Anne Rice were surprised that her first memoir, Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession, is not about her life as a writer; rather, it is about her life as a Catholic and the role of faith in her life.
Rice beautifully describes her life as a child being enveloped in Catholicism---the masses, the sacraments, her experiences as a student in Catholic school, the religious holidays (Nativity scenes set up at churches in New Orleans at the beginning of November, and the Stations of the Cross during Lent)--which, being a Catholic my own darn self, I strongly related to. She was also a child with a strong sense of family and what family meant to her. One revelation that was quite surprising to me was that she was not a big reader as a child; she was more of a listener--to stories and poem told to her by the mother she loved, and the celebrations of Mass in Latin.
Upon entering college in 1960, at the age of 19, several factors in Rice's life (including her gender and the turbulent era in which she lived at the time) led her to renounce the Catholicism of her childhood and proclaim herself an atheist. The reasons she chooses this radical shift from devout faith in a supreme being to no faith in a supreme being had many complicated factors. But Anne finished college, married poet Stan Rice, had two children (one tragically died at the age of five), and became a bestselling novelist specializing in vampires and erotica.
Rice remained an atheist for 38 years until she felt she was called back to Catholicism. After slipping into a diabetic coma in 1998, Rice slowly but surely regained her faith. She now devotes her writing to God and has since published a series of religious books based on the early life of Jesus Christ.
I admit I am not a huge fan of overtly religious literature, fiction or nonfiction, but Rice's memoir really pulled me in. Her journey full circle from Catholic to atheist to Catholic was very intriguing. However, being a fan of Rice's fiction, particularly The Vampire Chronicles, I was a little disappointed that her memoir gave little insight into her life as a writer, the inspiration of her characters, and her success as a novelist.
But remember this was not her intentions with this book. It is not the autobiography of an author; it's the autobiography of a devout Catholic who happens to be an author. Also, her passion for her new found religion is quite admirable.
However, some may view her devotion as overzealous, and even the hugest Anne Rice devotees will be turned off by the book simply for this aspect, which is a shame because it is well-written and fascinating to read, regardless of one's religious persuasion (if any). Her prose in her memoir is just as vivid and beautiful as her gothic fiction (which she does not renounce, by the way, regardless of her rediscovered faith).
Anne Rice makes it know that she stands by her life, her choices, and her work--and this is admirable in itself.
But to be frank, the main idea I took away from Called Out Of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession is that it is essential for every person to define their own religious beliefs for himself/herself and equally essential not to be coerced into a particular dogma. Faith is a personal thing, it's a private thing and, as with Anne Rice's life, it can change your outlook on everything for the better...or for the worse.
whatbillsbeendoin.blogspot.com
Rice beautifully describes her life as a child being enveloped in Catholicism---the masses, the sacraments, her experiences as a student in Catholic school, the religious holidays (Nativity scenes set up at churches in New Orleans at the beginning of November, and the Stations of the Cross during Lent)--which, being a Catholic my own darn self, I strongly related to. She was also a child with a strong sense of family and what family meant to her. One revelation that was quite surprising to me was that she was not a big reader as a child; she was more of a listener--to stories and poem told to her by the mother she loved, and the celebrations of Mass in Latin.
Upon entering college in 1960, at the age of 19, several factors in Rice's life (including her gender and the turbulent era in which she lived at the time) led her to renounce the Catholicism of her childhood and proclaim herself an atheist. The reasons she chooses this radical shift from devout faith in a supreme being to no faith in a supreme being had many complicated factors. But Anne finished college, married poet Stan Rice, had two children (one tragically died at the age of five), and became a bestselling novelist specializing in vampires and erotica.
Rice remained an atheist for 38 years until she felt she was called back to Catholicism. After slipping into a diabetic coma in 1998, Rice slowly but surely regained her faith. She now devotes her writing to God and has since published a series of religious books based on the early life of Jesus Christ.
I admit I am not a huge fan of overtly religious literature, fiction or nonfiction, but Rice's memoir really pulled me in. Her journey full circle from Catholic to atheist to Catholic was very intriguing. However, being a fan of Rice's fiction, particularly The Vampire Chronicles, I was a little disappointed that her memoir gave little insight into her life as a writer, the inspiration of her characters, and her success as a novelist.
But remember this was not her intentions with this book. It is not the autobiography of an author; it's the autobiography of a devout Catholic who happens to be an author. Also, her passion for her new found religion is quite admirable.
However, some may view her devotion as overzealous, and even the hugest Anne Rice devotees will be turned off by the book simply for this aspect, which is a shame because it is well-written and fascinating to read, regardless of one's religious persuasion (if any). Her prose in her memoir is just as vivid and beautiful as her gothic fiction (which she does not renounce, by the way, regardless of her rediscovered faith).
Anne Rice makes it know that she stands by her life, her choices, and her work--and this is admirable in itself.
But to be frank, the main idea I took away from Called Out Of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession is that it is essential for every person to define their own religious beliefs for himself/herself and equally essential not to be coerced into a particular dogma. Faith is a personal thing, it's a private thing and, as with Anne Rice's life, it can change your outlook on everything for the better...or for the worse.
whatbillsbeendoin.blogspot.com
February 25, 2013
I recently read The Vampire Chronicles and both of Ms Rice's "Christ the Lord" books so I decided to give this audio book a listen, too. while I enjoyed listening to the descriptions of New Orleans and Ms. Rice's Catholic upbringing, I felt the book jumped around quite a bit and it was hard to follow. But as a practicing Catholic who has experienced her own conversion back to the faith, the thing I found the most interesting was that this book read more like someone who was describing not a Catholic faith, but some kind of Protestant faith. And given what i know of Ms. Rice's very public announcement that she was leaving the Catholic Church (again) just a few short years after this book was published, I'm not surprised.
Throughout the book, the author claimed to be happy to have returned to the Church but at the same time, she continuously criticized the Church for not conforming to secular society on matters such as the ordination of women, acceptance of gay marriage, abortion and artificial birth control, etc. She claimed to have done much research, yet not once does she state any point of view (other than her own) for why the Church teaches as she does. Additionally, the author never goes into any kind of detail concerning either the Church teachings or her own beliefs, other than the social issues already mentioned, so one is left wondering exactly why it is she chose to come back to the Catholic Church - what was it that drew her back? It would seem that what Ms. Rice was really looking for was a church - any church - that would teach the same philosophy she espoused, whether that teaching was indeed the Truth or not. I also thought it was interesting that she also maned primarily non-Catholic writers as sources for her research.
Throughout the book, Ms Rice states, in her opinion, the central teaching of Jesus is to love one another, including your enemy, even though she never quite describes what that love might be in concrete terms. She also makes several disparaging remarks about Christians who "judge" others based on their behavior. What the author doesn't seem to understand is that Scripture tells us that the most loving thing we can do sometimes, is to correct the sinful behavior of others, so that they can repent and turn toward the Lord and thus enter into His Kingdom. In fact, she never mentions at all the Catholic teaching that our main focus here on earth is to get ourselves to Heaven, and second to that is to get our spouses, children and finally others to Heaven as well. I found it odd, for a newly reverted Catholic, that the author never expresses any regret that her husband died an atheist.
As I stated before, I did enjoy the parts of the book where the author described the New Orleans in which she grew up and especially the descriptions of her involvement in the Church as a child and it was for that reason I gave this book 3 stars. But I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the Church or for Catholics who are weak in their faith.
Throughout the book, the author claimed to be happy to have returned to the Church but at the same time, she continuously criticized the Church for not conforming to secular society on matters such as the ordination of women, acceptance of gay marriage, abortion and artificial birth control, etc. She claimed to have done much research, yet not once does she state any point of view (other than her own) for why the Church teaches as she does. Additionally, the author never goes into any kind of detail concerning either the Church teachings or her own beliefs, other than the social issues already mentioned, so one is left wondering exactly why it is she chose to come back to the Catholic Church - what was it that drew her back? It would seem that what Ms. Rice was really looking for was a church - any church - that would teach the same philosophy she espoused, whether that teaching was indeed the Truth or not. I also thought it was interesting that she also maned primarily non-Catholic writers as sources for her research.
Throughout the book, Ms Rice states, in her opinion, the central teaching of Jesus is to love one another, including your enemy, even though she never quite describes what that love might be in concrete terms. She also makes several disparaging remarks about Christians who "judge" others based on their behavior. What the author doesn't seem to understand is that Scripture tells us that the most loving thing we can do sometimes, is to correct the sinful behavior of others, so that they can repent and turn toward the Lord and thus enter into His Kingdom. In fact, she never mentions at all the Catholic teaching that our main focus here on earth is to get ourselves to Heaven, and second to that is to get our spouses, children and finally others to Heaven as well. I found it odd, for a newly reverted Catholic, that the author never expresses any regret that her husband died an atheist.
As I stated before, I did enjoy the parts of the book where the author described the New Orleans in which she grew up and especially the descriptions of her involvement in the Church as a child and it was for that reason I gave this book 3 stars. But I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the Church or for Catholics who are weak in their faith.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 3, 2011
Wow, Anne Rice, who would have thought. This book is a spiritual memoir of Anne's journey. She is a devout Catholic who is so intensely focused on the traditions in the Catholic church. I found the book quite illuminating because it gives insight into how Catholics view other Christians and why they believe so fervently in Mary and focus on all the icons so heavily. The story was interesting and honest. I can't wait to read her vampire books since she describes how all the characters represent her struggle with faith, her descent into personal darkness, and the way she was able to work herself out of it and come back to the beliefs she had when she was young.
Just recently last year, Rice came out with the statement: For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian. I'm out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being "Christian" or to being part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to "belong" to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.
I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen."
Which is a shame, because I personally am a Bible-believing Christian democrat, pro-gay, pro-choice, pro-birth control, pro-science believer. Many people in my generation, including myself, have trouble with the church because as an entity, it does not represent the love that Christ showed to those around him. However, with all the problems and issues I have with the church, I still believe in Jesus with all my heart and want to live my life in a way that would honor him.
I understand her frustration with Christians, I get it, but aren't we also supposed to be known "by our love for one another?" Anyway, I loved the book, I loved reading her insights, and I can't wait to read her novels now that I have a more in depth view of who she is as a person. Most interesting...
Just recently last year, Rice came out with the statement: For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian. I'm out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being "Christian" or to being part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to "belong" to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.
I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen."
Which is a shame, because I personally am a Bible-believing Christian democrat, pro-gay, pro-choice, pro-birth control, pro-science believer. Many people in my generation, including myself, have trouble with the church because as an entity, it does not represent the love that Christ showed to those around him. However, with all the problems and issues I have with the church, I still believe in Jesus with all my heart and want to live my life in a way that would honor him.
I understand her frustration with Christians, I get it, but aren't we also supposed to be known "by our love for one another?" Anyway, I loved the book, I loved reading her insights, and I can't wait to read her novels now that I have a more in depth view of who she is as a person. Most interesting...
March 14, 2013
I was given this book in 2010, and read it then, as well as in 2011. I enjoyed this book, and in true Anne Rice style, it is evocative and splendidly rich in imagery. I was struck by Anne's description of growing up in New Orleans and its distinct, multifaceted culture, as well as her illustrative, powerfully tangible recollections of Catholic mass and Catholic school. She naturally writes in such detail that I could easily imagine Anne's mother Katherine reading poetry to and telling stories to Anne and her 3 sisters, Anne's walks with her family to the chapel as she notes the kinds of trees and how they dance in the breeze, and the different types of sidewalks, with flowers and tree roots growing through the cracks, etc., etc. Years ago I read "Prism of the Night" 2 or 3 times, the biography collaborated on with author Katherine Ramsland, which I loved. "Prism" was published in '94 and the paperback is app. 416 pages, compared to this book's 245 pages, so of course Prism is more extensive and a joint work. I read some Amazon reviews of "Called", and was disappointed and sad over the harsh criticism and judgment in the few one-star reviews I saw. I am not Catholic, nor have I ever been, and I read this book because I was interested in Anne's experiences and thoughts. Therefore, it's not my place to judge or critique her, her journey, her internal compass, her opinions, or her conclusions. My review is about the book's contents and literary style, which I found to be compelling, interesting, and beautifully written, just like many of her other works. Whether or not you agree with her beliefs, or her arrival at those beliefs, it takes courage and vulnerability to put them on display, and be at the mercy of assumptions, speculations, and distortions. I respect that she is true to her personal integrity and follows what is important to her. Anne is a *writer*, and therefore she is driven to write, and I respect that, as well as her, especially her public admission in 2010 that she left organized religion.
January 5, 2015
I am not counting this book towards my reading challenge for the year because it was simply too unbearable to finish. I gave up about 1/3 of the way in, and skimmed the rest. Lest anyone think I am judging the content of this book because I dislike people believing in Christianity, let me point out that I took a class in college called Spiritual Autobiography, and it was really interesting. I enjoyed reading the stories of early Christian martyrs being so devoted to their new faith they allowed themselves to be eaten by lions. I also enjoyed reading about the Buddhist nun who lived in a cave for 12 years. So for Anne Rice to subtitle this "A Spiritual Confession" made me think I might be in for something similar, albeit not maybe as exciting as the lions (but pehaps more lively than the cavedwelling).
Instead, for me, this book was absolutely unreadable. I am happy for Anne Rice that she found a faith she can turn to and that makes sense for her, but I really wish she hadn't decided to write a stuffy, overly detailed, rambling, extremely self-important story about it. (To be more accurate, it seems more like a lot of disconnected reminiscences than anything I would call a story, or confession, or even coherent.) More to the point, I suppose, I wish I hadn't decided to try and read it.
Also relevant is that, despite their popularity, I never really enjoyed Interview with a Vampire books all that much. Perhaps if I had recalled that, I wouldn't have gone down this literary road.
Instead, for me, this book was absolutely unreadable. I am happy for Anne Rice that she found a faith she can turn to and that makes sense for her, but I really wish she hadn't decided to write a stuffy, overly detailed, rambling, extremely self-important story about it. (To be more accurate, it seems more like a lot of disconnected reminiscences than anything I would call a story, or confession, or even coherent.) More to the point, I suppose, I wish I hadn't decided to try and read it.
Also relevant is that, despite their popularity, I never really enjoyed Interview with a Vampire books all that much. Perhaps if I had recalled that, I wouldn't have gone down this literary road.
March 5, 2016
A quick read but an inspiring one. Having been bathed in the language of Christianity through an upbringing rich with faithful church attendance, it was refreshing to hear familiar concepts reiterated by an outsider. Repeated back to me, this vernacular was sweet and melodic. A breath of fresh air. There is such a richness to the ideal of loving your enemies and it's a beautiful thing to see it lived out and be on the receiving end of such treatment. The history of Christianity is rocky but rich with inspiration on living well and serving others and it inspires a better life than many alternative perspectives. Ms. Rice seems a bit scattered in her approach to life in general but is certainly very sincere. I love nothing more to hear stories of spiritual transformation and wish it was an acceptable part of society, experience and conversation.
All this being said, with the author publicly disavowing her association with the church several years after this book was written, it makes me question her thought process and the general believability of her ideals.
All this being said, with the author publicly disavowing her association with the church several years after this book was written, it makes me question her thought process and the general believability of her ideals.
January 2, 2014
I would have given this book at least 4 stars, but Rice is so scattered and leaves out so many details, I got kind of lost in some places. BUT she captures with the most magnitude the emotion that results from receiving the love given by the Creator of the universe. I'm super Protestant, so I wasn't familiar with a lot of the Catholic references (I learned a lot) and I had a lot of opposing views, but just as in life and in this book, it didn't matter. Only Jesus matters. I like that she included her thoughts on gender equality, which, I agree with her that Catholic and Protestant churches alike can get tangled in societal strings, but at the end of the day, Jesus is King of Kings, regardless of your gender, race, political affiliations, or net worth, and Rice and I hope that He comes more into people's focus. Loving will become easier, or even possible, then.
November 14, 2008
For a conversion story, I found it unconvincing and incomplete. While detailing her fascination with Catholic iconography and the comfort she finds in the traditional Mass, Rice all but avoids the elephant in the room: that her return to religious belief came as she confronted the loss of her husband and intellectual soulmate. Would Rice be a Catholic at this moment if her husband were still alive? After reading her memoir, I doubt it. So her return to the fold needs more explanation. Not necessarily to her fans or casual readers of her book, but perhaps most importantly, to herself.
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