Particular Friendships: A Convent Memoir

AMAZON REVIEWS

“The idealistic narrator arrives with gentle visions spawned by The Sound of Music, only to encounter the harshness of life in this secretive society. Her wit, compassion, and musicality foment a rebellion against rules forbidding expressions of joy and intimacy, as she struggles between allegiance to the heart and her vow of blind obedience to flawed and abusive superiors.”

“Waites’ memoir is beautifully written and captivating. She is a vivid writer with an evident gift for creating compelling and realistic characters. In many ways, she balances what she finds disturbing with what she finds rewarding about convent life. It becomes more and more clear, however, that Waites has written this memoir to at least partly come to terms with some of the haunting images and subtle and not-so-subtle expressions of power that caused her to leave the life she had previously so celebrated and desired.”

“Just so awesome Kathleen . . .so true to life. . .Could not put the Book down for a second . . .Growing up in a Irish Catholic family of seven children and my Mother being raised by Nuns . . . you know what life was like for myself growing up . . . and I can almost relate. . . you are very brave to have written this book.”

“This book is one of the most compelling memoirs I have ever read. Waites has told her story with staggering grace, compassion, humor, gravitas, and humanity. You've never seen anything like this narrative before, and you won't see it again. We hear so much about abuses of male power in the church, and the intensity of the church hierarchy. Here, the reader gets taken into a secret world of women, and learns that priests have no monopoly on sin. It's a story told with sublety and restraint, and a keen eye for what readers want. She's on the side of the angels!”