Cloistered - My Years as a Nun

''A profoundly moving memoir which gripped me'' Mark Haddon

Discover Catherine Coldstream-s evocative account of life as a nun in the 1990s, and the dramatic events which led to her flight from the monastery.

After the shock of her father-s death, twenty-four-year-old Catherine was left grieving and alone. A search for meaning led her to Roman Catholicism and the nuns of Akenside Priory.

Here she found a tight-knit community of dedicated women and peace in an ancient way of life. But as she surrenders to her final vows, all is not as it seems behind the Priory-s closed doors. Power struggles erupt - with far-reaching consequences for those within.

Catherine comes to realise that divine authority is mediated through flawed and all-too-human channels. She is faced with a dilemma: should she protect the serenity she has found, or speak out?

A love song to a lost community and an honest account of her twelve years in the Order, Cloistered