Dedicated to God: An Oral History of Cloistered Nuns (Oxford Oral History Series)
Reese is not Catholic. But that did not stop her from spending seven years documenting the devotion of the Poor Clare Colettine Order nuns of the Corpus Christi Monastery in Rockford, Illinois. Personal accounts and black-and-white photos reveal a restricted existence that is both unsettling and rewarding beyond measure. From behind steel grillwork that one young visitor describes as “the Jesus cage,” the nuns open up, revealing ordinary and sometimes privileged past lives. As novitiates, they must commit to living in a 25,000-square-foot enclosure and accepting only limited contact with family members. Reese portrays their difficult path: while the rest of the world sleeps, these women keep watch on the world, awakening at midnight for the first of seven daily prayers. A fascinating read, this book lifts the veil of mystery surrounding women who forsake contact with the outside world to become brides of Christ. --Susan DeGrane