Out of the Habit

Out of the Habit is a memoir which portrays a lifestyle during the early 1940’s that is no longer lived. The book chronicles a young girl of fifteen through her journey to become a professed nun in a semi-cloistered religious order. It reveals the fascinating joys and challenges to join, live, love, and yet ultimately leave this unique way of life. The details of stepping back into the secular world, after having exposed only her face and hands for over ten years, is comparable to Rip Van Winkle’s awakening.

The book is a truthful, first-hand account of thirteen incredible years of the author’s life. It is not a bashing of Catholicism. Rather, it is a warm, sometimes appreciative and sometimes critical glimpse into the customs, discipline, and social mores of the lost world of the traditional Catholic Church. The book’s accuracy and colorful detail hold appeal to both the curious and the scholarly.