title: Body and Soul
author: Bernstein, Marcelle
description: When Anna Summers first leaves the convent after thirteen years, she doesn't exactly "leap over the wall." In fact, she is pulled reluctantly into the contemporary world. Called home after her brother's death to care for her ailing pregnant sister-in-law, two exuberant little nephews, and the failing family wool business, Anna finds life in the 1990's frightening. Her years spent in a strict, contemplative order in secluded Wales have not prepared Anna to do battle with the incredulous bankers, crooked businessmen, and unusual suitors who inhabit her new world. Ultimately, Anna must face what she struggled to suppress at the convent---her renewed sexual stirrings, her longing for love, and her intense desire for a child of her own. When she took her vows, Anna never dreamed she could want more than a simple life devoted to God, but now at thirty, she is torn. Should she return to the security of the convent or admit her own changing emotions? This is an intimate, moving story about a nun who discovers a lust for life. The authentic background and rich details for this sensitively and skillfully written novel were based on the author's extensive research for Nuns, her highly acclaimed nonfiction study of religious women.