Review
"Elizabeth--Learning to Dress Myself from the Inside Out reveals the author's honesty, compassion, and courage that challenge readers to embark upon a similar path."
--Sharon A. Plankenhorn, D. Min., co-author of You Will Receive Power, Dove Publications
"Through her difficult and sometimes frightening life-journey, Elizabeth takes us to a place of spiritual peace and kindness few ever find."
--Bob Kelley, lawyer, formerly with the VA Hospital
"I was amazed by the similarity in women's lives, despite differences in locales and life paths. As one song put it, we may have come over on different ships, but we're all in the same boat now. Elizabeth's book will inspire those seeking authenticity."
--Fran Sisson, Older Women's League
"Mary Elizabeth Moloney spills out an intriguing and absorbing tale of how she came to be, a woman unto her own. She tells of a life fettered by the most significant woman in her life, her mother. A mother who she feels has taken control of her and "dressed" her in her own image."
--Sacramento and San Francisco Book Review
Through dream-work with a Jungian analyst, the author begins her real work of uncovering who she is without her mother's supervision or approval. As Mary Elizabeth begins to "dress" herself, she comes alive and faces many challenges inherent within this great transformation.
-- Portland Book Review
"Ex-nun Moloney’s debut memoir chronicles a life bound by the expectations of others, turned around with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous and Jungian analysis. Her story unfolds from deep within, to such a degree that readers who do not share that perspective may find it difficult to comprehend. Scenes of her strict upbringing, life in the convent and career as a social worker in New Orleans are interesting."
--Kirkus Reviews
From the Author
Years of receiving life reviews from terminally ill patients opened me to the sacredness of life, notably how inexplicable suffering transformed them into light beings. Such stories tweaked my own unexamined darkness and begged exploration. With retirement in 2001, I hung up my chaplain's role and began this memoir. Membership in the St. Louis Writers Guild and the St. Louis Publishers Association opened me to the craft of writing and self-publishing. Two on-line courses with Gotham Writers Workshop introduced me to the art of writing memoir. Nineteen drafts of Elizabeth followed, critiqued by editors. Long before it was completed, however, I experienced wiggle room in my psyche. Gone were the ghosts of multiple enmeshments to my mother and family, to the convent, to the Catholic Church, to a failed marriage, to alcohol. I was indeed free and newly empowered to carry this message of forgiveness and love to others.
From the Back Cover
The arduous path of becoming woman.
Elizabeth--Learning to Dress Myself from the Inside Out narrates Mary Elizabeth Moloney's search for authentic womanhood. Crippled by her mother's intent to dress her in her own image, by her years in the convent, and later in a marriage, she sought help. Through dream-work with a wise Jungian analyst, she learned to step back from her doll-like façade, to take responsibility for her unlived years, to recognize and deal with her addictive personality, and to explore the richness of her gift as woman and as writer.
About the Author
Mary Elizabeth Moloney lives her retirement years within the solitude of her nurturing home, her AA community, her family, and her friends and neighbors. The continuing challenge of her dreams has engaged her in research for her second book about the spiritual implications of living with chronic pain.
