Cecilia: Bride of Christ & Beyond

by Cecilia Inglis

This is a highly original & absorbing story of one woman's courageous quest to find happiness & fulfilment after thirty years as a Catholic nun.

Cecilia is the inspiring life story of a woman from an Irish Catholic background who decided to become a nun at the age of seventeen & joined the Sisters Of Mercy in NSW during the early 1950s. Tired & disillusioned at 47, Cecilia chose to renounce her vows.

Genres: Nonfiction

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Marj · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting read about the author's promptings to become a nun and then the difficulties she faced in this calling, but also the intrinsic rewards. I was surprised regarding the shopstealing incident that Cecilia seemed more concerned about the loss of face at being caught rather than feeling remorse and guilt aboout the theft.

[Annie Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. I enjoyed every word.

[Andrea Hickman Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A year and a day before I was born, Cecilia left the Sisters of Mercy convent she'd spent her entire adult life in and became an ordinary woman again. This memoir covers parts of her childhood, particularly as relates to her decision to enter the Convent. It covers a fair amount of life in the convent and the doubts and concerns she had to deal with. It then advances on the challenges and excitement of entering the secular world, around the age of 40, rather than 20.

This is a touching story, one I recommend for anyone interested in what could drive someone to enter into the religious life in this way. The Sisters of Mercy seems to be a particularly strict order and things are, of course, not done in the same way as when Cecilia was a member of that order, but it's still an interesting life to read about. It's also an interesting version of the traditional coming of age story, if you choose to look at it in that way.

On a side note, my book looks exactly like the one in the picture, but the subtitle is: an ex-Nun's Extraordinary Journey.

[Serap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent recount!