Search - Changing Habits

A quick read - interesting to any current or former Catholic on the transition of nuns after Vatican 2 - part fiction, part factual. Very interesting.

Addressing a subject not often found in women’s fiction, Debbie Macomber has written a compelling book that is absolutely unputdownable.

It’s the late sixties – a time of turmoil for many young Americans. But three young women decide to use their lives to serve God and become nuns.

Kathleen O’Shaughnessy, from a large Boston Irish family, has always known she’d become a nun. There was never any question from the time of her first communion on. And a more wonderful and devout nun you’d be hard pressed to find. But when Kathleen’s naiveté allows her to get into a very stick situation, her fellow nuns have no problem sending her away… .

Joanna and Greg become engaged before he leaves for Vietnam. They had become intimate before – conflicting with Joanna’s morals. But she knows they are meant for each other and while he is gone she spends time planning the wedding. But Joanna is in for a shock when he returns, giving her all the impetus she needs to enter the convent. She becomes a caring nurse and in her caring ends up devoting herself to more than just her patients when a troubled young physician forces her to take stock of her life.

Angelina joined the convent despite her father’s vehement protest. The young Italian girl has been primed to take over her father’s restaurant business from an early age. Sister Angelina becomes a schoolteacher, caring deeply for her students. But when she is unable to help one of her favorites leading to tragedy, Angelina is unable to forgive herself.

Debbie Macomber has given readers a glimpse into a world that has many a mystery to many. As a non-Catholic the depth of the isolation forced on the novices, especially in the late sixties, surprised me. But Macomber has chosen to set the bulk of CHANGING HABITS in a time that saw many changes in the Catholic Church and for the nuns in particular.

The poignant stories and choices made by these three women make for one of the most compelling books I’ve read in a very long time. In spite of the subject matter, there is romance as well, but the story really belongs to Kathleen, Joanna, and Angie.

This book is very highly recommended not only for its interesting subject matter but also for the compassion with which Macomber tackles controversial issues, as well as her trademark poignancy. It certainly proves why she is one of the most beloved authors writing today.

Three stories that are told piece by piece in alternating style. Only occasionally does more than one of the characters appear in each story segment. It was almost as if I was reading three different books at once and alternating among them, which I found disconcerting. Sometimes I had to stop and try to remember which character was the focus of the current segment, because their similarities seemed more significant than their differences. Parts of the book were very moving, but other parts just fell flat. The book kind of trails off toward the end.

Five star rating. As Debbie Macomber goes, any of her books are great. Changing Habits hit home a little for me since I attended Catholic grade school and high school and were familiar with the lives of nuns. Although none of my teachers left the convent, I'm not sure whether leaving the convent was an option. A very good read. Eileen

Loved this book. Found myself cheering on the three girls as they took each step in finding themselves.

My first book by this author, really enjoyed it. It chronicles the lives of three very different women who joined the convent for very different reasons.