By Paula Dáil (Edu’85)
(Warren Publishing, 388 pages; 2022)
Fearless...the story of an outspoken nun with the courage of her convictions.
Sixteen-year-old Maggie Corrigan, the oldest of seven motherless children in an impoverished Southside Chicago Irish-Catholic family, struggles with two choices: marriage and motherhood, or the convent. She decides on religious life, but never forgets that her mother died in childbirth. As the Vatican II reforms and the wider women’s movement take hold, Maggie realizes that by declaring artificial birth control and abortion as grievous sins, the patriarchal Catholic Church is both enslaving and profoundly endangering women’s lives.
Understanding that evil prevails when good people remain silent and, despite her religious vocation, Sister Maggie decides to take up the fight for women’s reproductive rights within one of the wealthiest, most powerful institutions in the world – ruled over by a cabal of celibate, middle-aged men with no grasp on the realities of women's lives.
Some label her a heretic. Others call her a saint. Yet, everyone agrees that Sister Maggie Corrigan is fearless.
Inspired by a true story.