Earlier this year, Donna (Beneteau) Crowell, completed a memoir outlining her 12 years as a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph in London. She writes with gratitude and humour of her years sharing community life. It is interesting to read her description of sharing the joys and challenges of living as a CSJ in the 1960s and early seventies. Some of our members who read the book commented, “This is a snapshot of convent living in the sixties.” “It’s delightful.” “I stayed up reading Donna’s book until 2 a.m.!”
Here’s how Donna describes her inspiration for writing “Nun Habits:
One day, I lamented to my friend Diane, "I have never read a book by a former nun who told how much fun it was!" She responded with disarming assurance, "Then you should write it." So across last year I wrote Nun Habits: Love and Laughter, a book about my years with the Sisters of St. Joseph of London, Ontario from 1962-1974. As I wrote, I remembered the many times we cracked up laughing. In gratitude, I dedicated this book to the Sisters. They made me who I am and I’m still a "Josie" at heart.
Maybe you would enjoy this summer read. You can contact Donna Crowell, formerly Sister Mary Christopher at donnacrowell@rogers.com Please put “Nun Habits” in the subject area of your email.
Jean Mpylan, CSJ