{"product_id":"9781467053259","title":"The Tears I Couldn't Cry: Behind Convent Doors","description":"\u003cp\u003e“Walk in my shoes as a Sister in a religious order in the United States from 1955-78.  Do what I did.  Feel what I felt. Live the life I lived in utmost secrecy.”\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePat’s incredible story takes readers on a terrifying journey through 22 ½ years of convent life in 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e century America. Promised to God when she was dying at age 3, she eventually enters a Catholic order of women where she is controlled by rigid rules and must wear a cumbersome 17\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e century habit … looking like a “flying nun”.  During 3 years of “formation” she is stripped of her own identity and forced into a mold.  She must give up the family she loves, while her Superiors squash her passion for art, music, and nature.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eShe must live under vows that require blind obedience, no pay for her work, and untainted celibacy.  All of these sacrifices are demanded in God’s all-justifying Name.  Leaving the convent would be turning her back on God and risking eternal damnation, Superiors say.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfter reading Pat’s true story, readers are faced with a question:  Was Pat, and thousands of other women like her, abused by the very religion they loved?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmmy-award winning screenwriter and one of Pat’s mentors, Vickie Patik, says, “THE TEARS I COULDN’T CRY is a triumph of the human spirit and an inspiration to anyone who is working up the courage to question cherished beliefs and seek closure through honest reflection and self-healing.”\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBarnaby Conrad, co-founder of the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference and its co-director for 33 years says that Pat has written her story “that is terrifying and beautiful … and VERY moving.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"AuthorHouse","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47130033094896,"sku":"9781467053259","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781467053259_p0.jpg?v=1763689818","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781467053259","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}