REVIEWS
“It’s a wild and wonderful ride through a world few know about.”
“Poverty, Chastity, and Disobedience by Sue Mattern is insightful, delightful and revelatory. Each chapter is a story of Mattern’s experiences in religious life in the late 1960’s, a time of incredible change in the Roman Catholic Church. Having lived through the same time in the same motherhouse my memories were awakened, my appreciation for what I gained and the healed wounds that have contributed to my strengthened character were tapped. Mattern’s brisk, highly descriptive style takes the reader immediately into her world of underground catacombs, bell tower roofs overlooking the Mississippi River on a cold winter night, and the varied relationships with the women who shaped her life as friends, mentors and persecutors. It’s a wild and wonderful ride through a world few know about.”
“Having attended Catholic school K-12 and later abandoning the church, Mattern’s story resonates with me on so many levels! It’s an unlikely coming of age tale of a teenage girl late 60s urban St. Louis, but instead of the predictable turn on tune in culture, she’s considering a lifetime commitment to God.
The conflict of a independent minded intellectual and the rigidity of a life within the confines of one of the most powerful institutions on the planet-the Catholic church-is compelling and often just plain funny. The depicted daily life of a religious postulant is sometimes shocking, and you find yourself rooting for the author and her partner-in-crime Pam to find a way to break out of their monotony and exert some individuality. This would be a great gift and a fun if somewhat irreverent- holiday read!”