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9780006550549

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* 'This articulate and sensitive writer spares no punches in her account of the agonising fight to find herself under the weight of rules and expectations, lies and aggression! Through the Narrow Gate is written as racily and as emotionally as a novel! the picture of convent life is vivid and terrifying.' Good Housekeeping. * 'Painful and honest! Karen Armstrong's simple account of her struggles -- both in pursuit of that self-death that the true religious craves and, later, against her unconscious rejection of life in an ultra-strict Order -- says a great deal about destructive trends in modern life! A very moving book.' Daily Telegraph * 'Seldom has a story of personal inspiration and tragedy radiated such warmth, freshness and candour! As beautifully recounted as it is heart-rending.' Irish Press * The strength of this unself-pitying chronicle is the author's capacity to convey the overwhelming attraction of the life she sought, even as she documents its shattering effect on the human personality! A scrupulous record of one woman's spiritual journey, excellently written and profoundly moving.' Cosmopolitan

* `This articulate and sensitive writer spares no punches in her account of the agonising fight to find herself under the weight of rules and expectations, lies and aggression... Through the Narrow Gate is written as racily and as emotionally as a novel... the picture of convent life is vivid and terrifying.' Good Housekeeping. * `Painful and honest... Karen Armstrong's simple account of her struggles - both in pursuit of that self-death that the true religious craves and, later, against her unconscious rejection of life in an ultra-strict Order - says a great deal about destructive trends in modern life... A very moving book.' Daily Telegraph * `Seldom has a story of personal inspiration and tragedy radiated such warmth, freshness and candour... As beautifully recounted as it is heart-rending.' Irish Press * The strength of this unself-pitying chronicle is the author's capacity to convey the overwhelming attraction of the life she sought, even as she documents its shattering effect on the human personality... A scrupulous record of one woman's spiritual journey, excellently written and profoundly moving.' Cosmopolitan

An emotive, spiritually intimate, and often quite moving memoir by an English woman who entered an austere Catholic Order in 1962 before the sweeping changes initiated by Vatican II - and a tribute to sister nuns, kind or cruel, who were striving for a superhuman ideal and not surprisingly made mistakes. At 17, Karen, daughter of loving middle-class parents, was a sensitive, unsophisticated loner, unhappy with her appearance and a bit frightened of a world of men-and-women. Charmed by the serenity and intelligence of her school's headmistress, Mother Katherine, and against the wishes of her parents, Karen entered the Order as a postulant. The early months at the convent offered some disagreeable but challenging surprises: medieval underwear, laundry soap for the weekly bath, and, worst, the rule of strict silence except for two hours a day. Sometimes it all seemed so contrived and unreal, like performing in a play. But the two-year novitiate began the severest test, especially in living the Word: I would grind myself to a powder if by doing so I could accomplish God's will. Karen, now Sister Martha, engaged in a bitter battle with Self as a novice, after her final vows, and as a Scholastic preparing to teach. Then, the tortured, insuppressible demands of mind and body brought about a final crisis. Desiring so much the selfless life, Sister Martha attempted to draw spiritual growth from meaningless tasks, anachronistic punishments (even self-flagellation), a racking, Karen -crushing self-analysis. Some of her superiors, clinging to archaic rules like a guard rail in a swimming pool, seem unnaturally cruel - forcing food upon often-nauseated Sister Martha, insisting her fainting and dizzy spells were due to pride. The last breakdown came during her studies at Oxford, when intellectual thrust and integrity warred openly with blind obedience ; in 1969, Karen received permission to leave and break her vows. I rarely felt at peace, she grieves, but at another level I was happy. . . . Religious life is about love and love is about risk. Perhaps none of us risked enough. Despite the gripping, widely-appealing details of convent life, an essentially religious confession - written with affection, some humor, and a bittersweet regret. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Karen Armstrong was born in Worcestershire. After becoming a nun in the 1960s, she left her order and lectured in literature at London University before becoming a full time writer, broadcaster and international adviser on religious and political affairs. A regular columnist for the Guardian, her books include A History of God, The Gospel According to Women, The Battle for God, Islam: A Short History, Through the Narrow Gate, her memoir A Spiral Staircase and A Short History of Myth: The Great Transformation and Buddha. Her work has been translated into forty languages. Karen Armstrong is also the author of three television documentaries. In 1999 she was awarded the Muslim Public Affairs Council Media Award and she was recently awarded a First Decoration of Art and Literature by the Egyptian Government – the first Western woman to be given this award. Since 11 September 2001 she has been a frequent contributor to conferences, panels, newspapers and periodicals on both sides of the Atlantic on the subject of Islam and fundamentalism. She has twice addressed members of the United States Congress, was one of three scholars to speak in the United Nations in the first session ever devoted to religion in that body, and has also been invited to advise members of the Canadian parliament on relations with the Islamic world. In June 2002, she gave the keynote address at the annual convention of the American Muslim Council, and is currently involved in a major project to develop an intellectually strong and pluralistic American Islam with leading members of the Muslim community. She lives in London.

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