Cloistered

An astonishing memoir of twelve years as a contemplative nun in a silent monastery. Cloistered takes the reader deep into the hidden world of a traditional Carmelite monastery as it approaches the third Millennium and tells the story of an intense personal journey into and out of an enclosed life of poverty,chastity and obedience. Finding an apparently perfect world at Akenside Prioryand a haven after the loss of her fatherCatherine Coldstream trusts herself to a group of twenty silent womenbelieving she is trusting herself to God. As the beauty and mystery of an ancient way of life enfolds hershe surrenders herself wholly to its poweronly to find that all is not as it seems behind the Order’s closed doors. Cut off from the wider world for decadesthe community has managed to evade accountability to any authority beyond itself. When Sister Catherine realises that a toxic cult of the personality has replaced the ancient ideal of religious obedienceshe is faced with a dilemma. Will she submit even to thisor will she be forced to speak out? An exploration of the limits of trustCloistered shows us how far grief can take us along the road of self-surrenderand of how much harm is done when institutional flaws go unacknowledged. Catherine’s honest account of her time in the monastery – and her dramatic flight from it – is both a beautiful love song to a lost community and a sharp critique of the abuse of power in an ancient institution.