10 Jul The Practice Of Perfection
Linked short stories provide a seldom-seen peek behind the closed doors of a convent, at the challenges and blessings of young women who have dedicated their lives to the practice of perfection.
The time is 1959 and the setting is a convent, where novices begin the difficult process of separating themselves from the everyday world they’ve grown up in and everything in it, including material things, their friends, and even their families. The Practice of Perfection is rich in the details of their lives – the personalities, the rituals of the convent, the names for parts of clothing and rooms, the stock answers for any and all questions of their faith. Ultimately, it is a fascinating portrait of the search for purpose and the struggle to keep life changing commitments that mirrors those same elements in all of our lives.
Reviews
“….these young lives, striving, doubting, stumbling, defying, are drawn with great care and touching humanity.”
— The Globe and Mail
“Coady’s portrayal of the [characters’] earnestness and struggle for spiritual fulfillment is written with great sensitivity, her rendition compelling.”
— Prairie Fire Magazine
“Evoking the stark and simple lifestyle of those cloistered with unembellished words and repeated images, Coady bestows an air of humanity upon the search for a religious life and sparks readers to reflect inwardly upon their own lives.”
— SPG Weekly Book Pick
“While highlighting the archaic nature of this closed world, Coady also gestures toward the complex layers of meaning within this confined space generated through both pursuit of common goals and individual encounters with the divine.” — Canadian Literature