First Place in Pacific Northwest Writers Literary Contest: Very credible... Complex and emotional... Great clarity and restraint... Allows reader to empathize... Well paced... 'It hooked me ' This young girl is willing to endure great discomfort if only she can be a nun. From the beginning, obedience becomes her virtue, her way of life. Strict rules reinforce her resolve. After all, nuns are supposed to be perfect, aren't they? Eventually, though, Sister Jennifer finds some rules nearly impossible to accept. Having close personal friendships is regarded as a threat to community cohesion, so when she finds herself drawn more to some of her Sisters than to others, she justifies her inner feelings and begins to work around the mandates. Moreover, a series of aloof Superiors further threaten her zeal. They may be in charge of her, but she cannot draw motherly affection or warmth from them. In fact, she feels quite certain that her own mother would never fit in there. She begins to wonder if her joy as a nun will always be tinged with sorrow. Part of her joy and satisfaction have come from her new teaching career. She instills in her students the love for learning and the impetus for living a righteous life. In return, her young charges respond with rewarding progress, and so her self-satisfaction grows. But then one day she's introduced to Father Patrick. He's a young priest whose evident love for life seems to come from everything he encounters--including her--and a new chapter opens for Sister Jennifer.
