"Good storytelling"
In the 1960s, three young women from diverse lifestyles
enter St. Peter's Parrish in Minneapolis with the belief
they are destined to become nuns. Angelina Marcello,
Kathleen O'Shaunessy, and Joanna Baird had different
reasons for becoming "Brides of Christ", but shared an
idealism to serve God and help the community. In 1972 the three nuns struggle with crisis of faith. For
Sister Angelina, it was the simple failure of the Church to
deal with the problems of a pregnant teen Corrine that sent
her back to her father's restaurant. Temporarily taking
over the accounting journal led Sister Kathleen to Father
Brian Doyle with both wrestling between their vows and a
very human love for one another. For Sister Joanna, the
return of Viet Nam vet Dr. Tim Murray reminds her that she
joined for the wrong reasons as she begins to fall in love
with the still recovering medical practitioner. Will the
church lose three more dedicated people or will the vows
prove strong enough to keep these Sisters within the fold? CHANGING HABITS is not the typical fare from Debbie
Macomber, but is an insightful look at some of the problems
the modern day Catholic Church is confronting in America.
The story line is well written as the trio of nuns seems so
genuine and human. The support cast enables the audience
to understand their motives from entry into the Church
until the individual crisis of faith occurs. Readers will
feel strongly what each one of the Sisters contends with as
Ms. Macomber powerfully focuses on the critical loss of
nuns facing the Church today. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted April 24, 2003
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