Mary Rose Kreger is an author of YA fantasy and creative nonfiction. She blogs about her convent experience on www.monasteryinmyheart.com, and shares her struggles adjusting to post-convent life on her new blog, Life After Convent. Mary lives in the metro Detroit area with her family.
"Why can't I just stay home with you, Mommy?" my son would ask me, day after day.
I wrapped him up in a big bear hug. "Well," I explained, "I am not a good teacher. I want someone who knows what they're doing to teach you."
Still, I thought about it. Maybe I could homeschool my son instead.
And then on December 27, 2021, my son received a special needs diagnosis. This unexpected life change gutted my mental stamina for writing about tough topics. I needed to refocus my energy on helping our son.
During the past four years, I have discovered that my fantasy and real-life stories are often deeply and strangely intertwined.
Also, the cover reveal for Avalon Lost, my debut YA fantasy novel.
You said you have so long waited...for the convent of the heart. When I first found Nancy Shuman's book, The Cloistered Heart, I just kept saying to myself, "How does she know?"
-Email message from Cora Brown, a Cloistered Heart
"Heart cloister can be lived by single or married persons, religious or clergy or lay, male or female. Because we carry our enclosure with us, we can be united in heart with God wherever we may be." - The Cloistered Heart Way of Life, by Nancy Shuman