Unruly Catholic Women Writers: Creative Responses to Catholicism by Jeana DelRosso, Leigh Eicke, Ana Kothe (review)

This book is a fishbowl of varied experiences given voice by thirty-five women writers. At a specific time in their lives, these writers encountered Catholicism in situations as different as that of a first grader in school is from a working pastoral associate in a particular parish in a particular city. Reflecting on events in their past, some of these writers tell us how their present has been shaped by a nun who taught them, a high school girlfriend who awakened lesbian longings, or a priest who condemned everything connected to the female body. The women come from numerous geographical areas, ethnic backgrounds, and careers. What they all have in common is a Catholic connection and the ability to write creatively. They are, moreover, “unruly,” i.e., not easily controlled.

The kinds of writing include personal essays, poetry, drama, and fictional short stories. There are no gender theories or critical appraisals of the Catholic Church, only formative experiences described with humor or in anger. Some pieces are more literary than others, but all of them embody good writing. The items are organized according to the Mysteries of the Rosary: Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious. The image of the Rosary provides a recognizable Catholic pattern and suggests the emotional impact of the various experiences. Titles are telling, e.g., “My Soul Sisters – or, How the Nuns of My Childhood Inspired a Feisty Feminist” Given the vastness of pieces that might have been chosen, the editors of this book chose wisely and with discrimination. A reader need not follow the writings successively. They might be read randomly or on the basis of one’s mood or pertinent convictions regarding women and the church.

Whatever a reader’s beliefs, opinions, attitudes, or hopes and dreams about women and Catholicism, this book will open up new vistas. It may provoke taking sides, making a decision at last, or coming to appreciate certain viewpoints. Reading some or all of the pieces will assuredly create a response in the reader. Who knows? The reader may even start writing something along the lines of this book!

Anyone teaching classes in Women’s Studies or Contemporary Catholicism would find this book useful. Perhaps someone teaching creative writing in a Catholic college may discover helpful models for women students. But this also might be a fruitful study for a Book Club. It definitely should be in a college library and perhaps in your local public one. It could even become a creative present for a woman’s husband, boyfriend, or male coworker. The book has many possibilities, as do the women who contributed to it.