New Habits: Today's Women Who Choose to Become Nuns

Why would young women in their twenties or thirties choose to enter a convent? Are they running away from the world? Are they seeking a Mother Superior to obey in order to escape personal responsibility? Why would they sacrifice the opportunity to have a lover, a child, a house of their own, or the freedom to live according to their own desires? And once in a community, how do they cope with doubt, routine, the lack of personal space? Isabel Losada has talked at length to ten young Anglican nuns -- all of whom had homes, jobs, boyfriends, money, and freedom -- who explain why they are seeking a more radical lifestyle. They reveal themselves openly, and they challenge all the stereotypes. And although Losada approached the interviews with a high degree of cynicism, she came away with a tremendous admiration for these women who have sought a greater freedom in a God-centered life.