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55 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good insight into a spiritual journey, June 11, 2011
This review is from: An Unquenchable Thirst: Following Mother Teresa in Search of Love, Service, and an Authentic Life (Hardcover)
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"An Unquenchable Thirst" is a memoir of the twenty years that Mary Johnson, a young woman from Texas, spent in the Missionaries of Charity, the order begun by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Entering the convent at age 19, Mary found herself in a community steeped in pre-Vatican II spirituality. Spiritual practices one associates more with the Middle Ages, such as wearing chains and whipping oneself nightly, were commonplace. One was expected to give oneself over totally to the will of one's superiors, and novices were taught that to question the superior or the Church was to question God. As the author tells it, mind control was practiced by those in authority, all in the name of fidelity to God. Inevitably, shame, guilt, and even mental illness followed. Most of the young women in Mary's class could not live under such conditions and left the order, but Mary and one other in her class remained. An intelligent and compassionate person, Mary was sent to study in Rome, where she excelled. At the conclusion of her studies, she was put in charge of a group of novices, a job she handled well despite her own growing doubts and awakening sexuality. Pursued by an aggressive younger nun to whom she was attracted, Mary experienced sexual feelings for the first time. Knowing that she has violated her vow of chastity, Mary turns to her confessor, a sympathetic young priest with whom she eventually falls in love. Because the sisters are discouraged from having human friendships, it is difficult for Mary to tell the difference between the simple need for human connection and more complicated sexual attraction. At the same time, a political coup was underway in the community. The ultra-conservative and anti-intellectual first and second councillors managed to have all the sisters who were studying at Rome's Regina Mundi university removed under the pretext that a priest there was teaching doctrine contrary to Church law on abortion. This is the last straw for Mary, and she requests a leave of absence, to the shock of everyone in the community, including Mother Teresa, who herself urges Mary to stay. This memoir is amazingly detailed, and although the author admits that conversations are not verbatim, they have the ring of truth. I kept wondering if Mary had kept a journal or diary during her time in the community. I was also struck by the fact that Mary never excuses herself when she makes a mistake or does the "wrong" thing; indeed, I think she is far too hard on herself. That said, at 539 pages, the book is overlong and could have used a good editor. Still, it kept me interested. I was happy that Mary eventually found joy in marriage and career outside the community. I was also interested in the fuller portrait of Mother Teresa, who emerges as a more complex human being with great sanctity but also human flaws and blind spots. Readers who are interested in a look into Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity will enjoy this book, though some may be dismayed if they view Mother Teresa and her order as perfect. Likewise, very conservative readers may be put off by some of the content. I recommend "An Unquenchable Thirst" to open-minded readers who see the world in all its complexity rather than in black and white.
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50 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An insider's view of convent life., May 15, 2011
This review is from: An Unquenchable Thirst: Following Mother Teresa in Search of Love, Service, and an Authentic Life (Hardcover)
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I had hoped when ordering this book that I would read about nuns out in the field helping the poor in foreign countries. As a nun, Mary Johnson, was mainly involved in the training of those women wanting to become nuns. Mary did spend some time with the poor in America and Canada but most of the book deals with training nuns and those administering the training, with the negative side of this being emphasized. I was particularly disheartened to see that mortification of the flesh was practiced - self flagellation and wearing chains with spikes: " That evening I took the discipline with more force than usual. The next morning when I fastened the chains around my arm and waist, I pulled them tight." I was also dismayed that many of the things that turned me away from the church in an earlier time frame than this book were still going on. So many of the nuns were totally unliberated, trained in complete obedience and not given schooling except in cathecism. Many of the nuns were cruel in their training and some were "seriously unhinged" as Mary later states. The new aspirants were quickly taught that touching or friendships were strictly forbidden. (later in the book she has Mother Teresa complaining about all the hugs she would get) The nuns of this order still shaved their heads and didn't wear shoes inside until AIDS appeared in the world and it wasn't known how it was contracted. A certain nun who was sexually and emotionally abusive to other nuns, including the author, was allowed to stay in the order despite compete knowledge of her actions by Mother Teresa. Mary, or Sister Donata, entered as a teen who thought she was ugly, and did have a mostly non-carnal relationship with a priest which to me was so understandable. To be cut off from human touch and even contact with her family (why didn't her family write to her?) was inhumane. Her family did once send her a cassette tape to listen to but the order did not own such a thing and she was forbidden to bring it to any house that had one. When nuns in Beirut called Mother Teresa to tell them they were under fire, Mother Teresa's answer was: "Are you dead yet? Call me when you are dead." When one young nun who had a severe depression, certainly not helped by this type of unfeelingness, lay down upon Sister Donata/Mary, just seeking closeness, another nun walked in and spread the rumor that never left Sister Donata that they were '"fornicating". When confessing to a priest that she had been struggling with sexual desires for several years she is told she is a sex addict and referred to the precepts of AA to overcome this. This is definitely a very negative and disheartening book. I am amazed and sorry that the author spent 20 years of her life in this state, twenty years that led her to atheism. That's the greatest sorrow of the book.
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Authentic, eye-opening and raw ... a look at a Vocation, July 30, 2011
This review is from: An Unquenchable Thirst: Following Mother Teresa in Search of Love, Service, and an Authentic Life (Hardcover)
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I was interested in reading this book because I, like the author, spent some of my life in the convent (me, 7 years). I was able to jump in from page one and understand where Ms. Johnson was coming from. This book highlights the dynamics of a religious community / order seemingly stuck in "adolescence" exhibiting some of the behaviors, rituals, and mannerisms that seem irrational to those looking in from the outside. Many things are done "in the name of God" but executed with human imperfection. This book touches on instances of this over and over again. The reader will get a good taste of some of the rigors of religious life. I admire the author for being so candid and telling her story and sharing her vocation with the world. This book must not have been easy to write and much of it must have been cathartic. Having come from some similar experiences (the humanity of living in community), some of the book hit home just a little harder than I expected. Mary's journey to her vocation is told in a readable and gripping style. Her vocation felt very much like my vocation and anyone who has experience with religious life will feel certain twinges that others may not feel or totally understand. Still, the book is an awesome look inside the walls and the psyche of living within a religious community and being a Nun. Through love and dysfunction Mary shares her story and journey. A revealing and insightful account for sure. Thank you for sharing Mary! A great read!
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