This excellent collection of essays allows young women to focus on their lives and identity in the Catholic faith (Full disclosure: I know Jen Owens from when we both part of the same church community in Boston). 29 women share their stories which are rich and diverse despite many of them coming from similar backgrounds (all but one of the writers are "cradle Catholics"). They reflect on growing up Catholic, putting their faith into service and social justice, the call to vocation, and the importance of liturgy, the sacraments and Catholic identity. They also tell how they deal with the conflict of the official Church teachings on things like women's ordination and sexuality and how they've dealt with questions of faith and doubt. This is a beautiful and powerful work and really left me thirsting for more.

Favorite Passages:
The thing about Catholic school, about growing up Catholic, is that it prioritizes the sacred, the ceremonious, the ability to create something holy out of otherwise profane time. What we are taught as easily as biology, as matter-of-factly as mathematics, is a sense of wonder, that there is a transcendent and overarching God at play, that love is what propels the universe. - p. 39, Sarah Keller

Ironically, I am almost grateful to a church for inadvertently shaping me into a strong-willed feminist. By simultaneously encouraging me to use all of my gifts and then barring me, and many other women, from doing so, the church provides exactly the right blend of factors to motivate me to action. - p. 143, Kate Henley Averett. ( )