Karen Armstrong's book is an autobiographical account of her life as a nun. It includes her early decision to become a nun, based on her belief that she would never be able to make it in the secular world. The bulk of the book covers the initiation into the religious life and her training. The last part of the book goes into the reasons she finally decided to leave the convent after seven years.

people interested in biographies and/or spiritual reading

The whole book was filled with food for thought. I thought that I would not find much common ground, seeing that I have never been that religious in the orthodox sense, however, there was a lot that I could relate to. Much of the religious training sounds very similar to military training actually, which is something I did experience. I also related to Armstrong's mysterious food-related illness which helped her decide to leave the convent. I too have had similar symptoms when under stress. What I didn't relate to was altogether incredibly fascinating. I began to understand and feel an appreciation for someone who chooses this life.

I don't have any criticism really. I wanted to hear more about how Armstrong resolved her illness, but other than that I felt like the book was complete. Her prose isn't ground-breaking, but it is easy to read and her story-telling is endearing as most biographies should be.

I wanted to read more of Armstrong's books after reading this one.

Very secular

Reading about other people's religious experiences is one of the best ways to explore other belief systems.

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Created Nov 11, 2007 at 7:07pm • Submit your own review...