Really Cool

Cool! That’s what I used to think of Sally Field in her many misadventures as sister Bertrille in the sitcom, “The Flying Nun.” And “cool” is what came to mind when I met Mary Johnson, a few years ago while on a retreat for teachers who write. We had been summoned by the dinner bell to gather and eat. Staying at a Quaker Resort, one of the residents was giving us the low-down on what was on the menu, and Mary whispered that someone having to explain dinner could not be a good sign of the chow to come. I laughed because I was thinking the same thing! Dinner wasn’t bad.

Having been raised sort-of Christian, and having gone to public schools, I had no experience with nuns outside of my childhood fascination with the “The Flying Nun.” So, when Mary shared in one of the sessions that she had been a nun in her previous life, I thought how cool it was to be in the company of a real (used-to-be) nun!

I had no idea that a nun’s life was anything, but cool. I had no point of reference for the level of commitment and dedication to a life of service that is required of those who aspire to be nuns and priests. Mary’s journey in “Unquenchable Thirst” from naïve school girl to a woman in search of something greater than herself is an intimate narrative of a woman’s struggle to reconcile her spiritual and secular selves.

“Unquenchable Thirst” is a brave and honest look at the life of servant of God – the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between. Mary forces the reader to grapple with questions of religion, faith and politics while skillfully guiding the reader up and down the paths of Mary’s journey to satisfy a she describes as an “unquenchable thirty.” Mary allows the reader to step into a personal part of life and peek inside, but she doesn’t run around trying to clean things up. She invites us to accept her story as is, and from her we learn accept our less than perfect selves. And I think that’s really cool.

Stephanie Gates  is an educator and writer residing in the Windy City. In addition to  teaching and writing, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, engaging in spirited conversations and taking in cultural events. Read her blog here.