An Unquenchable Thirst
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
For readers of Karen Armstrong and Kathleen Norris comes a powerful, unforgettable spiritual autobiography.
An Unquenchable Thirst is the story of Mary Johnson's twenty years as a Missionary of Charity — working alongside Mother Teresa in service to the world's poor — and a fascinating depiction of the daily struggle to live a life of religious service. At 17, Johnson experienced her calling when she saw a photo of Mother Teresa on the cover of Time. Eighteen months later she found herself in religious training in a South Bronx convent. This boisterous, independent-minded teenager adapted, eventually, to the austere life of poverty and devotion, but faced daily the struggles of any young woman — the same desires for love and connection and meaning and identity. After 20 years, Johnson left the order and has since left the church, but the story of this complicated, extraordinary woman will speak to atheists and true believers alike.
From the Hardcover edition.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Johnson, a writer and Fellow of the MacDowell Colony, left the Missionaries of Charity in 1997. She overshares the 20 years she spent as a nun under the direction of Mother Theresa. As Sister Donata (a name meaning "freely given"), Johnson lived obediently in poverty and chastity most of the time. Yet she was chafed by the rules more than by her blue-edged sari. For her, Jesus' words, "I came that you may have life, and have it to the full," meant she had to leave: "my faith left my soul cold." She profiles "Mother" beyond the myth and provides chilling reports of vicious, bullying nuns. She details her growth from a teenager obsessed with the ideal of Mother Theresa into an adult who needed touch and privacy and eye contact, all forbidden by Mother. Johnson writes candidly of self-flagellation, humiliation, and her furtive exploration of her sexuality. Johnson "recreated" the first half of her story, going back to her adolescence and her initial decade as a nun, from her memories; it's tedious compared to the intense, believable second half that includes her last years of working with Mother Theresa. The epilogue, covering her life after she left the order, teases with riches never mined.
Customer Reviews
Tremendous
A peek into the inner workings of the often romanticized life of a nun. Magically written, this memoir transports you to the real world events that the author Mary Johnson was witness too. Achingly heart breaking and hopefully up lifting. Many times I found myself laughing and crying as the power of story telling unfolds in the able hands of Johnson.