{"product_id":"dedicated-to-god-abbie-reese-9780199947935","title":"Dedicated to God: An Oral History of Cloistered Nuns","description":"As a subculture, cloistered monastic nuns live hidden from public view by choice. Once a woman joins the cloister and makes final vows, she is almost never seen and her voice is not heard; her story is essentially nonexistent in the historical record and collective, public history. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom interviews conducted over six years, Abbie Reese tells the stories of the Poor Clare Colettine Order, a cloistered contemplative order at the Corpus Christi Monastery in Rockford, Illinois. Seldom leaving their 25,000-square-foot gated enclosure, members of this community embrace an extreme version of poverty and anonymity-a separation that enables them to withdraw from the world to devote their lives to prayer. This removal, they contend, allows them to have a greater impact on humanity than if they maintained direct contact with loved ones and strangers. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cem\u003eDedicated to God\u003c\/em\u003e explores individual and cultural identity through oral history interviews with several generations of nuns, focusing on the origins and life stories of the women who have chosen to become members of one of the strictest religious orders. But the narrative is also one of a collective memory and struggle against extinction and modernity, a determination to create community within the framework of ancient rules. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe author's stunning photographs of their dual worlds, religious and quotidian, add texture to the narrative. This artistic and ethnographic work highlights the countercultural values and dedication of individuals who, at incredible personal cost, live for love of God and humanity, out of faith in what cannot be seen, and with the belief that they will be rewarded in the afterlife.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Abbie Reese\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0199947937\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780199947935\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Oxford University Press, USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/07\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.10w x 1.10d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2013 pg. 4\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/01\/2013 pg. 104\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2014","brand":"Abbie Reese","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44054744203519,"sku":"9780199947935","price":69.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_26e180d3-b967-49c8-ac58-640b3120c25b.jpg?v=1685031741","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/dedicated-to-god-abbie-reese-9780199947935","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}