An Unquenchable Thirst both riveted and unnerved me. Mary Johnson tells a story that some may find sacrilegious because of the esteem Mother was (is) held in, but Mary finds a way to make certain that the woman from Calcutta's dignity, grace and holiness is maintained.
The Sisters of Mercy of the United States raised me for all intents and purposes. When my father died in 1968 and my alcoholic mother remarried an abusive and angry man some four years later, the nuns that loved my father (and he, them) took me aside and made certain that I was brought up in a loving and nurturing environment. Georgian Court University campus became my backyard and playground. It was during this time that I saw the human side of sisterhood we didn't get to see in our grade school: tears, laughter, some arguments and always prayer, the Sisters lived in a community of real life, not void of the emotions and baggage that came with the solitude. I was able to see it and it made an impression.
As an author of a book on sexual abuse within New Jersey's Catholic Church, and the cover-up that ensues to this day, I read each passage of the sexual journey Mary took with reservation and ultimately with resolve. I, like her, kept waiting for God "to make it easier" for her, or to show her the sign that she longed for and craved. I felt that it took her 20 years to finally discover that God was telling her "this part of your journey is over, Mary, you now have a story to tell." She tells it brilliantly! I was lost in the story of this anything-but-simple nun’s life and found myself cheering for her chapter by chapter.
Bruce Novozinsky is the author of Purple Reign, Sexual Abuse and Abuse of Power in the Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey. He lives in Upper Freehold Township, NJ with his wife, Maureen and four children. His second book, Graviora Delicta: Sister Margaret McBride and the Genesis of the United States Bishop’s versus the United States Nuns will be released in July 2015. Bruce can be reached at bnovozinsky@me.com or through his website at www.novozinsky.com