However, I suspect Alison may be wrong to assume that Walatta’s vow of celibacy meant that no hanky panky went on. But so many of the true stories are rife with duality, because in many ways the existence of lesbian nuns relies on contradictions.

Despite the controversy, the book became a best-seller, rights were sold to make a movie, and a paperback edition was published, as well as a British edition. This collection of short memoirs, edited by Nancy Manahan, didn’t appear in its original edition until 1985, but as it happens my interests were focused in a different direction at that time, and although I knew of its publication, I didn’t read it then.It’s fascinating to read each section and find such similarities and differences in these women’s stories. Still myth-shattering, the stories remind us of the courage required to live—and love—in congruence with our authentic selves.

Formerly an English instructor at Napa Valley College (she now owns a carpet cleaning business in Napa), Manahan, 38, discovered that scholarly sources that examine convent “deviance,” such as pregnancies occurring among sisters who have taken vows of chastity, keep to the policy of silence when it comes to same-sex relationships.

Included are a current and former director of the National Gay Task Force, Virginia Apuzzo and Jean O’Leary. Ik kreeg daardoor de indruk dat het kloosterleven en in het bijzonder nonnen soms een beetje in diskrediet gebracht werden. Out of print for two decades, Lesbian Breaking Silence, the explosive international best-seller, is back with a new foreword analyzing the unprecedented impact it had on the lesbian community and mainstream culture. Seller has stated it will dispatch the item within 1 working day upon receipt of cleared payment - opens in a new window or tab . It’s fascinating to see so many women look back on a time in their life and reflect on their motivations, loves, and sexuality.