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In This Small Spot #2
An Unlit Candle
The long-awaited follow-up to In This Small SpotPatricia Horrigan is the eldest daughter of a family determined to gain entry into the upper echelons of Rochester society as the 1950s give way to the turbulence of the 60s. Born of an Irish father and a French-Canadian mother, Pip inherited the stubborn pride and fierce determination of both. With her life in the family business all planned out, she is most definitely not interested in throwing it all away to become a nun. But some calls will not be ignored, no matter how hard she tries. Fifty years later, she can’t help but wonder if her choices and sacrifices were worth it.In present time, Lauren Thackeray has managed to put her life back together—in a manner of speaking. She has her weaving, her home, her chosen family, and she has the monastery and the lasting friendship of the nuns there. The one thing she doesn’t have, she doesn’t want. She won’t open her heart again after she barely survived the last time.Gail Bauer is questioning her own vocation as an Episcopal priest. How can she minister to others when she’s not sure she believes anymore? In desperation, she flees, hoping to find answers.In the shadow of St. Bridget’s Abbey, three very different women will need one another—to come to terms with their demons, to heal, and to rekindle the light that life has all but snuffed out.
458 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 24, 2021
19 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
About the author
Caren J. Werlinger
22 books296 followersFrom the author's website: Bestselling author Caren Werlinger published her first award-winning novel, Looking Through Windows, in 2008. Since then, she has published fifteen more novels, winning several more awards. Influenced by a diverse array of authors, including Rumer Godden, J.R.R. Tolkein, Ursula LeGuin, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Willa Cather and the Brontë sisters, Caren writes literary fiction that features the struggles and joys of characters readers can identify with. Her stories cover a wide range of genres: historical fiction, contemporary drama, and fantasy, including the award-winning Dragonmage Saga, a fantasy trilogy set in ancient Ireland. Most recently, she created the magical setting of Little Sister Island (a place she and her readers wish were real) in When the Stars Sang and Face the Wind.
She lives in Virginia with her wife and their canine fur-children.
She lives in Virginia with her wife and their canine fur-children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
September 13, 2021
4.50 Stars. This was very well done! I feel like in a couple years I’ll just be able to say the name ‘Caren Werlinger’ and people will know there is a special story here without even needing to see my review. I will admit I was late to the Caren bandwagon. I always knew she was a good author, but then I would read one of her books and kick myself because I forgot just how good she really was. Well, I’ve learned my lesson over the past few years and now I’m always excited for a new Werlinger book to come out. I’m happy to say that this book was everything I was hoping for and a great sequel to In This Small Spot.
I recently read/reviewed In This Small Spot when Caren announced that the sequel would be coming out soon. In This Small Spot was excellent, but it was also a heartbreaker. I honestly had no idea how Caren would write a sequel. It seemed like it would be a challenging story to write, but boy did Caren knock it out of the park. I believe that readers of In This Small Spot are going to be happy with this book. This book doesn’t make up for all the tears in the first book, and I still needed tissues for this book too, but it was an excellent read. I would highly recommend reading ITSS before you read this book. In my opinion they feel like two halves of a whole story and while I think anyone would enjoy this book on its own, it’s much more powerful reading the story from the beginning of book one.
This book is broken up into two stories. One is the story about a character you will know from ITSS, her life from young adult to 70’s (I think) and the other story takes place in current times following shortly after the events of ITSS. This choice ended up working really well and I found both storylines very easy to connect too. Because we go back and forth each chapter, sometimes I could not wait to get back to current times, other times I was dying to see what happened in the past. The balance was so well done so that both stories had their chance to shine and as a reader I cared about both equally.
Since this is a sequel, I’m going to wrap this up and keep things more on the vague side as I would not want to spoil this for anyone who still needs to read In This Small Spot. This book was excellent and I would recommend it to anyone interested in dramatic romances. However, I highly recommend reading In This Small Spot first. These two books are very connected and are so much more powerful having read them together.
A copy was given to me for a review.
I recently read/reviewed In This Small Spot when Caren announced that the sequel would be coming out soon. In This Small Spot was excellent, but it was also a heartbreaker. I honestly had no idea how Caren would write a sequel. It seemed like it would be a challenging story to write, but boy did Caren knock it out of the park. I believe that readers of In This Small Spot are going to be happy with this book. This book doesn’t make up for all the tears in the first book, and I still needed tissues for this book too, but it was an excellent read. I would highly recommend reading ITSS before you read this book. In my opinion they feel like two halves of a whole story and while I think anyone would enjoy this book on its own, it’s much more powerful reading the story from the beginning of book one.
This book is broken up into two stories. One is the story about a character you will know from ITSS, her life from young adult to 70’s (I think) and the other story takes place in current times following shortly after the events of ITSS. This choice ended up working really well and I found both storylines very easy to connect too. Because we go back and forth each chapter, sometimes I could not wait to get back to current times, other times I was dying to see what happened in the past. The balance was so well done so that both stories had their chance to shine and as a reader I cared about both equally.
Since this is a sequel, I’m going to wrap this up and keep things more on the vague side as I would not want to spoil this for anyone who still needs to read In This Small Spot. This book was excellent and I would recommend it to anyone interested in dramatic romances. However, I highly recommend reading In This Small Spot first. These two books are very connected and are so much more powerful having read them together.
A copy was given to me for a review.
September 27, 2021
4.5⭐️ – How talented must an author be to make me relate to characters so so far from me? It’s almost easier for me to relate to shapeshifters or aliens than to someone who gives their life to god. I don’t believe in the power of prayer. I don’t believe in depriving oneself of human love. As one of the MCs said in In This Small Spot (which I absolutely recommend reading first), falling in love made her a better nun and that makes a lot of sense to me. The way I see it, forsaking love makes you distracted and, not to be dramatic but it’s happened before, sometimes it makes you Darth Vader.
That said, I disagree but I do not judge, and the author made the characters’ choices and decisions feel right. Hard at times, even heartbreaking, but right. In In This Small Spot, Mother Theodora was the wise and understanding woman guiding Mickey and the other sisters. Here we get to know the vivacious and responsible young woman she once was and understand the journey to becoming the abbess. The impact such a journey has on others, on family, the things you leave behind, what you discover on the way, the loneliness at the top as well.
I also loved Lauren’s character in In This Small Spot and was happy to find out what happened to her after the events of the first book, and to get more insight into her choices. In This Small Spot was very much focused on Mickey, and Lauren’s perspective in this sequel was welcome. Like In This Small Spot, An Unlit Candle follows two timelines, one five years after the end of the previous book, and one starting in 1959 and spanning decades. Werlinger writes both time periods in alternate chapters in a completely organic way. Even if you’re not usually a flashback fan, you shouldn’t have any problem following here.
I first wrote this review for the Rainbow Literary Society, and the template includes a section on chemistry. As I wrote there, talking about chemistry in this book feels beside the point. It’s not about romance, even if it’s about love, even if there is a romance too. More than anything, it’s about allowing oneself to feel and allowing these feelings to be. Or not allowing, for that matter. This isn’t to say there isn’t angst or attraction. There’s all that, and a lot more. Just don’t expect steamy scenes.
One last thing because I can’t not mention it when reviewing one of Caren J. Werlinger’s books: the writing is wonderful. In This Small Spot broke my heart. An Unlit Candle gave me closure. It’s everything I could ask for in a sequel.
I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
That said, I disagree but I do not judge, and the author made the characters’ choices and decisions feel right. Hard at times, even heartbreaking, but right. In In This Small Spot, Mother Theodora was the wise and understanding woman guiding Mickey and the other sisters. Here we get to know the vivacious and responsible young woman she once was and understand the journey to becoming the abbess. The impact such a journey has on others, on family, the things you leave behind, what you discover on the way, the loneliness at the top as well.
I also loved Lauren’s character in In This Small Spot and was happy to find out what happened to her after the events of the first book, and to get more insight into her choices. In This Small Spot was very much focused on Mickey, and Lauren’s perspective in this sequel was welcome. Like In This Small Spot, An Unlit Candle follows two timelines, one five years after the end of the previous book, and one starting in 1959 and spanning decades. Werlinger writes both time periods in alternate chapters in a completely organic way. Even if you’re not usually a flashback fan, you shouldn’t have any problem following here.
I first wrote this review for the Rainbow Literary Society, and the template includes a section on chemistry. As I wrote there, talking about chemistry in this book feels beside the point. It’s not about romance, even if it’s about love, even if there is a romance too. More than anything, it’s about allowing oneself to feel and allowing these feelings to be. Or not allowing, for that matter. This isn’t to say there isn’t angst or attraction. There’s all that, and a lot more. Just don’t expect steamy scenes.
One last thing because I can’t not mention it when reviewing one of Caren J. Werlinger’s books: the writing is wonderful. In This Small Spot broke my heart. An Unlit Candle gave me closure. It’s everything I could ask for in a sequel.
I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 30, 2021
I am a Muslim. For me, I don’t relate to the setup of this book! I shouldn’t have related to the characters. I shouldn’t have related to scenes or even the conversations! I am not even that religious, so even the religious aspect isn’t relatable to me! But here I am giving the book a solid 5 stars! Here I am knowing that this book will stick in my mind for the longest time. It’s one of those memorable books that will have a special place in my heart :)
Caren Werlinger story telling is exceptional. I’m not even a fan of flashbacks but yet loved it. While it was great to go back to Lauren and see how she moves on with her life, for me, Pip’s story was on another level of Brilliance from the author !
I would advice everyone to read the first book, In This Small Spot . Not because you need to, but because it’s a shame to miss an outstanding read..
“I received an ARC for an honest review”
Caren Werlinger story telling is exceptional. I’m not even a fan of flashbacks but yet loved it. While it was great to go back to Lauren and see how she moves on with her life, for me, Pip’s story was on another level of Brilliance from the author !
I would advice everyone to read the first book, In This Small Spot . Not because you need to, but because it’s a shame to miss an outstanding read..
“I received an ARC for an honest review”
October 25, 2021
Werlinger returns to St. Bridget’s Abbey, showcasing both a prequel and a sequel mashed into one masterfully interwoven story that brings it all home.
Lauren in a lot of ways is fortunate. She has a loving family, a beautiful home, and is free to work on her tapestries without any distractions. She also spent years with the love of her life until tragedy struck. Now, she’s settled into a space that is quiet until someone new walks in and makes her question whether she should open up her heart again. But Mickey is a hard act to follow. How does the new woman even begin to think that she can make a life with Lauren when Lauren has already had it all?
Along with the continuation of the original narrative of Lauren and Mickey, comes the origin story of Mother “Pip” Theodora. Here’s where the author astounds. Sometimes, I hear young reviewers mention not wanting to read books with older main characters. Werlinger blows that idea out of the water always. Youthful dalliances, ambitions, family fights, the light of falling in love, gut wrenching life decisions, the pain of loss, humor all paint someone’s days, especially when you’re describing 80-90 years on this earth. The author does justice to the profundity of a person’s time and search for meaning. She does it through the eyes of Mother Theodora. I’ll never think of the women who choose to be nuns in the same way.
Received a copy of the book for an honest review.
Lauren in a lot of ways is fortunate. She has a loving family, a beautiful home, and is free to work on her tapestries without any distractions. She also spent years with the love of her life until tragedy struck. Now, she’s settled into a space that is quiet until someone new walks in and makes her question whether she should open up her heart again. But Mickey is a hard act to follow. How does the new woman even begin to think that she can make a life with Lauren when Lauren has already had it all?
Along with the continuation of the original narrative of Lauren and Mickey, comes the origin story of Mother “Pip” Theodora. Here’s where the author astounds. Sometimes, I hear young reviewers mention not wanting to read books with older main characters. Werlinger blows that idea out of the water always. Youthful dalliances, ambitions, family fights, the light of falling in love, gut wrenching life decisions, the pain of loss, humor all paint someone’s days, especially when you’re describing 80-90 years on this earth. The author does justice to the profundity of a person’s time and search for meaning. She does it through the eyes of Mother Theodora. I’ll never think of the women who choose to be nuns in the same way.
Received a copy of the book for an honest review.
September 23, 2021
How can a book be so beautiful and tender it brought me to tears over and over again while I read it? This follow up to Werlinger’s In This Small Spot is a masterpiece. If you haven’t read the first book in this series you really must so you can appreciate all An Unlit Candle has to offer. I’m not even catholic but following the life of this once young and carefree Pip on her spiritual journey I found myself as contemplative as the nuns of St. Bridget. What propels someone to choose a cloistered life? What do they gain? What do they give up or lose when vowing to live a life of duty and chastity?
The other storyline takes place five years after the end of In This Small Spot. We follow a secondary character, a former nun who left the order for love and has suffered a great loss. She spends her days pursuing her crafts and is called upon by Mother Theodora to act as a spiritual guide for an Episcopal priest who is questioning her faith and her calling. Hearts once broken are hardened to second chances. Seeing these two women wary of finding love and questioning their faith enhanced the other timeline featuring a nun with a sense of duty but a deep understanding of its cost.
I was struck by how we mark the passage of time in life while reading this book. We remember the years since a loved one died. World events like assassinations and wars mark the changing world, while the routines in the abbey remained the same. Decades of service spent in work assignments and prayers for the world, the hours of the day faithfully marked by the nuns in prayer, praise, work and rest. Time is marked as the once outspoken and or beloved nuns end up in the infirmary and spend their last hours on earth with the abbess, by the changing seasons and by the ebb and flow of new postulants filling the rolls and cells vacated by the aged nuns. Change comes slowly to this contemplative order but changes are made to help the community at large. What does not change is their dedication and devotion to prayer.
I found this book profound and memorable. A beautiful read.
A copy of this book was given to me by the author for review.
The other storyline takes place five years after the end of In This Small Spot. We follow a secondary character, a former nun who left the order for love and has suffered a great loss. She spends her days pursuing her crafts and is called upon by Mother Theodora to act as a spiritual guide for an Episcopal priest who is questioning her faith and her calling. Hearts once broken are hardened to second chances. Seeing these two women wary of finding love and questioning their faith enhanced the other timeline featuring a nun with a sense of duty but a deep understanding of its cost.
I was struck by how we mark the passage of time in life while reading this book. We remember the years since a loved one died. World events like assassinations and wars mark the changing world, while the routines in the abbey remained the same. Decades of service spent in work assignments and prayers for the world, the hours of the day faithfully marked by the nuns in prayer, praise, work and rest. Time is marked as the once outspoken and or beloved nuns end up in the infirmary and spend their last hours on earth with the abbess, by the changing seasons and by the ebb and flow of new postulants filling the rolls and cells vacated by the aged nuns. Change comes slowly to this contemplative order but changes are made to help the community at large. What does not change is their dedication and devotion to prayer.
I found this book profound and memorable. A beautiful read.
A copy of this book was given to me by the author for review.
September 14, 2021
5+ stars
This is a profoundly beautiful follow-up to In This Small Spot, which does need to be read before this one. I'll admit that I never gave a whole lot of thought to what it might be like to be a cloistered nun. And why would most people, unless they feel a similar call to do it? And while that may be true, this is a fascinating look at what their lives are like. A life of willing sacrifice.
These characters aren't perfect. They have doubts and fears like anyone. These are people who come from diverse backgrounds, yet their commonality is that they feel the need to serve in this way. And what happens when they obey that call? What is the cost to them? Their families? What happens if they are lesbians and have given their oath to only love God and no other?
You might be thinking as I may have before I read them, why would this subject be interesting to me? Because Caren Werlinger is a master storyteller and makes it so. Their daily lives are not what the crux of these books are about. It's about who they were before they entered this life and who they are now. And what happens when people come into their lives that have the potential to change the trajectory of it. What if the call - their sense of duty - overrides absolutely everything else? Is it really worth it in the end?
There are moments in these two books where you just clutch your chest at the sheer beauty of it. The choices Werlinger makes to give us insight into who these people are, are breathtaking at times.
In This Small Spot is an emotionally difficult read, yet so incredibly powerful that it is completely worth the investment of time and yes, heartache. An Unlit Candle is equally moving, focusing primarily on two characters - one, a significant secondary character from the first book, and the other, one of the main characters from the first. I loved seeing where her journey takes her five years later. I can't go into specifics as to who either of these characters are without giving something away, but wow. What stories they are! You'd be hard pressed to find a more satisfying sequel. I actually lost sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about it.
If you read the blurb and this review and think, "I just don't know that these books are for me" I would ask you to reconsider. There was a time when I probably would have passed these by. But my heart was so full when I was done reading them that I can't imagine not having had the experience.
I was provided an ARC for an honest review of the book.
This is a profoundly beautiful follow-up to In This Small Spot, which does need to be read before this one. I'll admit that I never gave a whole lot of thought to what it might be like to be a cloistered nun. And why would most people, unless they feel a similar call to do it? And while that may be true, this is a fascinating look at what their lives are like. A life of willing sacrifice.
These characters aren't perfect. They have doubts and fears like anyone. These are people who come from diverse backgrounds, yet their commonality is that they feel the need to serve in this way. And what happens when they obey that call? What is the cost to them? Their families? What happens if they are lesbians and have given their oath to only love God and no other?
You might be thinking as I may have before I read them, why would this subject be interesting to me? Because Caren Werlinger is a master storyteller and makes it so. Their daily lives are not what the crux of these books are about. It's about who they were before they entered this life and who they are now. And what happens when people come into their lives that have the potential to change the trajectory of it. What if the call - their sense of duty - overrides absolutely everything else? Is it really worth it in the end?
There are moments in these two books where you just clutch your chest at the sheer beauty of it. The choices Werlinger makes to give us insight into who these people are, are breathtaking at times.
In This Small Spot is an emotionally difficult read, yet so incredibly powerful that it is completely worth the investment of time and yes, heartache. An Unlit Candle is equally moving, focusing primarily on two characters - one, a significant secondary character from the first book, and the other, one of the main characters from the first. I loved seeing where her journey takes her five years later. I can't go into specifics as to who either of these characters are without giving something away, but wow. What stories they are! You'd be hard pressed to find a more satisfying sequel. I actually lost sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about it.
If you read the blurb and this review and think, "I just don't know that these books are for me" I would ask you to reconsider. There was a time when I probably would have passed these by. But my heart was so full when I was done reading them that I can't imagine not having had the experience.
I was provided an ARC for an honest review of the book.
May 30, 2023
Very powerful novel, as I’d expected. Asked questions, questioned lives and vocations, was / is it all worth it? With plenty of non secular life entwined. Highly recommended.
June 27, 2022
I remember back in 2004, my sister saying she wanted to go on a quiet retreat to Iona Abbey off the coast of Scotland. After reading this achingly beautiful, descriptive book, my own desire to go has expanded greatly.
Bravo, Ms. Werlinger. I don't have any accurate words to describe how this book made me feel. I am just....in awe.
Bravo, Ms. Werlinger. I don't have any accurate words to describe how this book made me feel. I am just....in awe.
October 2, 2021
This novel is so worth the wait since This Small Spot was published. We are given the chance to meet old friends and make new ones.
Caren J. Werlinger is a master storyteller. Her characters come to life on the page and capture our hearts. This Small Spot was my first reading of Caren’s and it devastated me. Every one of her books has affected me deeply and stayed with me long after I have closed the book.
This is writing at its finest.
5⭐️
Caren J. Werlinger is a master storyteller. Her characters come to life on the page and capture our hearts. This Small Spot was my first reading of Caren’s and it devastated me. Every one of her books has affected me deeply and stayed with me long after I have closed the book.
This is writing at its finest.
5⭐️
November 2, 2021
I have just read another book which forced me to learn the ending unnaturally quickly because it is so good. For the same reason, I did not want to put it down too soon. It is too well-written.
This is a follow-up story to In This Small Spot by the same author. I fell for the characters in the mentioned book and was very fond of following their adventures. An Unlit Candle partially introduces us to the life 60 years ago when a young woman entered the abbey to become its abbess in 18 years time. Her life story is painful and amazing. All her struggles are beyond my mind. Also, learning about the convent's routine from the inside is an awakening. In my neighbourhood, there used to be two convents. Now there is only one. The nuns run an elementary school. I thought I was a little familiar with their everyday lives. However, they are nothing like the sisters described by Caren Werlinger.
The book deserves more than five stars for writing. The tension back and forth switches in the plot, proper balance of romance, drama, and sensation places this book high in my personal ranking. I guess my blurred vision due to the tears falling during the reading was not just my state of mind. The story touches tough life moments which most of the readers are familiar with.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
This is a follow-up story to In This Small Spot by the same author. I fell for the characters in the mentioned book and was very fond of following their adventures. An Unlit Candle partially introduces us to the life 60 years ago when a young woman entered the abbey to become its abbess in 18 years time. Her life story is painful and amazing. All her struggles are beyond my mind. Also, learning about the convent's routine from the inside is an awakening. In my neighbourhood, there used to be two convents. Now there is only one. The nuns run an elementary school. I thought I was a little familiar with their everyday lives. However, they are nothing like the sisters described by Caren Werlinger.
The book deserves more than five stars for writing. The tension back and forth switches in the plot, proper balance of romance, drama, and sensation places this book high in my personal ranking. I guess my blurred vision due to the tears falling during the reading was not just my state of mind. The story touches tough life moments which most of the readers are familiar with.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
February 20, 2022
As a reader, I find that it's nearly impossible to review a book written by Caren Werlinger. We really need additional stars, because five just doesn't do it. I enjoy looking at the "year end best of" by my favorite reviewers every year - I always add to my TBR when I've somehow missed a really great book. After reading An Unlit Candle in January, the year after the original publication, I'm convinced that any of those lists that doesn't include this book simply means that the reviewer hadn't gotten around to reading it.
I read some incredible books in 2021, but none were as profound as this. Caren Werlinger writes with a gentleness and depth that is unmatched. I can't imagine the amount of research done to perfectly sum up an entire adult life spent living in an abbey. The extent of my knowledge is having watched The Sound of Music multiple times in my life. In addition to having covered every emotion on the spectrum, I also feel like I learned so much. The book is actually three different stories: the young Pip as she enters the convent; Mother Theordora as she celebrates her Golden Jubilee in the abbey; and the story of Lauren and Gail and how they came to be.
The surprises along the way absolutely wrecked me, in the best possible way. I always have to schedule my reading of a Werlinger book when I know I'll have time to recover and reflect afterwards. As other reviewers have noted, it's absolutely essential to read In This Small Spot first, for every reason. This is a pair of books not to be missed.
I read some incredible books in 2021, but none were as profound as this. Caren Werlinger writes with a gentleness and depth that is unmatched. I can't imagine the amount of research done to perfectly sum up an entire adult life spent living in an abbey. The extent of my knowledge is having watched The Sound of Music multiple times in my life. In addition to having covered every emotion on the spectrum, I also feel like I learned so much. The book is actually three different stories: the young Pip as she enters the convent; Mother Theordora as she celebrates her Golden Jubilee in the abbey; and the story of Lauren and Gail and how they came to be.
The surprises along the way absolutely wrecked me, in the best possible way. I always have to schedule my reading of a Werlinger book when I know I'll have time to recover and reflect afterwards. As other reviewers have noted, it's absolutely essential to read In This Small Spot first, for every reason. This is a pair of books not to be missed.
December 1, 2021
This book and it's predecessor, In This Small Spot remind me of another great convent novel, In This House of Brede. The reverence for this way of life is in every page. Except we now know thanks to Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence that convent life also included passion, including the sexual kind. Thanks to the scandals in the Catholic Church, including the abuses of the Magdalene Sisters in Ireland, the convent has certainly lost its shine. It's no longer the romantic place that it was when I and my friends cried over The Nun's Story in black and white reruns on TV in the 1960s.
Writing about religion and faith isn't easy. Writing about it respectfully is especially hard given all that we know. So many gay women have been treated badly by the churches in which they were raised. Yet Werlinger's succeeds. Her portrait of Mother Theodora, who entered the convent during its golden age in the early 1960s, is brilliant. She manages to portray her vocation in a way that readers can believe, whether or not they can relate to it. Although there are romances in the story, it's not a romance, but a powerful portrait of a powerfully committed woman, someone who gives up everything, even love, to follow her vocation.
Although I would have liked to have to have seen more made of the Episcopal priest's role as a feminist symbol of equality (as opposed to the subservient role of nuns in the Catholic Church), I found this book a satisfying read. Highly recommended.
Writing about religion and faith isn't easy. Writing about it respectfully is especially hard given all that we know. So many gay women have been treated badly by the churches in which they were raised. Yet Werlinger's succeeds. Her portrait of Mother Theodora, who entered the convent during its golden age in the early 1960s, is brilliant. She manages to portray her vocation in a way that readers can believe, whether or not they can relate to it. Although there are romances in the story, it's not a romance, but a powerful portrait of a powerfully committed woman, someone who gives up everything, even love, to follow her vocation.
Although I would have liked to have to have seen more made of the Episcopal priest's role as a feminist symbol of equality (as opposed to the subservient role of nuns in the Catholic Church), I found this book a satisfying read. Highly recommended.
April 5, 2022
An Unlit Candle was my first read from this author, and I picked it up without having read the synopsis. It may be a confluence of events or coincidence but sometimes a story like this will enter our lives at the precise moment when we are able to receive it and FEEL it. Wonderfully, this was one of those times for me.
The author’s skill with storytelling was evident in the way they delicately unraveled the plot as time (in both main timelines) progressed, with details being slowly revealed to tie the two timelines together. The main characters were beautifully and fully developed, and the primary side characters were nicely developed and served to move the main plots forward.
Pip’s storyline was haunting and, though I doubt I’ll ever be able to understand her character’s choices on a personal level, the way this author penned Pip’s life and her struggles deeply endeared me to her as I read. I wouldn’t label this story a “romance,” despite the romantic elements. It felt more like a contemplation of humanity, responsibility, and an exploration of the existence of love and destiny.
I found myself slightly distracted by details of minor side characters at times (mainly Alice and the very numerous Sisters). And, I didn’t feel too invested in any of the characters outside of St. Bridget’s, but I was VERY pleased overall by this author’s writing and look forward to reading more of their work - 4.5 stars
The author’s skill with storytelling was evident in the way they delicately unraveled the plot as time (in both main timelines) progressed, with details being slowly revealed to tie the two timelines together. The main characters were beautifully and fully developed, and the primary side characters were nicely developed and served to move the main plots forward.
Pip’s storyline was haunting and, though I doubt I’ll ever be able to understand her character’s choices on a personal level, the way this author penned Pip’s life and her struggles deeply endeared me to her as I read. I wouldn’t label this story a “romance,” despite the romantic elements. It felt more like a contemplation of humanity, responsibility, and an exploration of the existence of love and destiny.
I found myself slightly distracted by details of minor side characters at times (mainly Alice and the very numerous Sisters). And, I didn’t feel too invested in any of the characters outside of St. Bridget’s, but I was VERY pleased overall by this author’s writing and look forward to reading more of their work - 4.5 stars
October 27, 2021
If I had been shaken by the first book, In This Small Spot…this sequel, An Unlit Candle, has healed whatever trauma I suffered. Thanks to author for writing this sequel. Looking forward to many more of your awesome works!
September 11, 2021
An Unlit Candle is the story of three women and their journeys in life, both spiritual and emotional. Are their choices the right ones? Is a commitment to God or spiritual life one that needs to be consistently re-evaluated and renewed? To what extent can or should one retain individuality in monastic life? All these questions are significant in the course of the book.
Although I’m not religious, as a reader, I found I could relate to these women’s situations in terms of their understandings of themselves and their paths in life. Feelings of uncertainty, “impostor syndrome” or self-doubt happen in all walks of life, and questions of identity and belonging are ones that are common for many of us. There is an element of the spiritual, but the characters’ journeys are also about self-discovery and identity.
This is also a story of finding love and making choices, and embracing the new while not forgetting the past.
An Unlit Candle is ambitious and sweeping novel: it covers over fifty years. Past and present timelines are woven together in an intricate way, yet at the same time, the story is easy to follow and reads very smoothly. We see how life in the convent stays relatively the same while the outside world changes. But the nuns are aware of the outside changes, and seek to respond to them in the best and only way they can: with prayer.
This novel had such an impact on me that I needed several days to absorb it. It felt as if I had lived an entire lifetime through Pip’s eyes and in her world, experiencing a range of emotions along with her.
It was wonderful to follow Lauren from In This Small Spot on her journey towards finding happiness. With the new character of Gail there is much for readers to relate to—feeling stressed and burned out is something that many of us feel in all walks of life. These two characters are both mature in their emotional understanding of themselves and develop a strong friendship, but are cautious about moving forward further.
The secondary characters, friends and extended family members, are well developed and add depth and some humour to the story.
The setting of St. Bridget’s Abbey, both in past and present, is a unique place, with an interesting and varied cast of characters. Caren J. Werlinger has made it a richly developed world of its own, and we can see the appeal of religious life with its ritual and community, although the struggles of this life are apparent. There is much to be said about life in a female-only environment, but even then, there are disputes and the potential for powerful people to take out their anger or pettiness on others.
If you loved In This Small Spot , you really need to read An Unlit Candle. It is one of Caren J. Werlinger’s strongest books yet, and that is saying a lot considering the level of excellence of all her previous books. I highly recommend it.
Disclaimer: I was involved in editing this manuscript, but my opinions here are from my perspective as a reader.
Although I’m not religious, as a reader, I found I could relate to these women’s situations in terms of their understandings of themselves and their paths in life. Feelings of uncertainty, “impostor syndrome” or self-doubt happen in all walks of life, and questions of identity and belonging are ones that are common for many of us. There is an element of the spiritual, but the characters’ journeys are also about self-discovery and identity.
This is also a story of finding love and making choices, and embracing the new while not forgetting the past.
An Unlit Candle is ambitious and sweeping novel: it covers over fifty years. Past and present timelines are woven together in an intricate way, yet at the same time, the story is easy to follow and reads very smoothly. We see how life in the convent stays relatively the same while the outside world changes. But the nuns are aware of the outside changes, and seek to respond to them in the best and only way they can: with prayer.
This novel had such an impact on me that I needed several days to absorb it. It felt as if I had lived an entire lifetime through Pip’s eyes and in her world, experiencing a range of emotions along with her.
It was wonderful to follow Lauren from In This Small Spot on her journey towards finding happiness. With the new character of Gail there is much for readers to relate to—feeling stressed and burned out is something that many of us feel in all walks of life. These two characters are both mature in their emotional understanding of themselves and develop a strong friendship, but are cautious about moving forward further.
The secondary characters, friends and extended family members, are well developed and add depth and some humour to the story.
The setting of St. Bridget’s Abbey, both in past and present, is a unique place, with an interesting and varied cast of characters. Caren J. Werlinger has made it a richly developed world of its own, and we can see the appeal of religious life with its ritual and community, although the struggles of this life are apparent. There is much to be said about life in a female-only environment, but even then, there are disputes and the potential for powerful people to take out their anger or pettiness on others.
If you loved In This Small Spot , you really need to read An Unlit Candle. It is one of Caren J. Werlinger’s strongest books yet, and that is saying a lot considering the level of excellence of all her previous books. I highly recommend it.
Disclaimer: I was involved in editing this manuscript, but my opinions here are from my perspective as a reader.
November 30, 2021
I enjoyed In This Small Spot so much I jumped at the chance to read An Unlit Candle. Told in two alternating timelines, part sequel, part prequel, and woven together beautifully. I think this story would definitely benefit from being read after In This Small Spot.
We first meet Patricia (Pip) Horrigan in the late 1950s as she and brother accompany their parents to a ball at the Wasserman’s, where it pays to be seen. Mr Wasserman would play an ongoing role in Pip’s life.
The young Pip wanted more out of life than to be on the hunt for a husband, to the exasperation of her mother. Her father owned a flour mill and Pip’s ideas were to expand the business so they would make their own products rather than just selling the flour to other bakeries. On her way to a meeting one day Pip met Toni Andretti.
'Just then, Pip’s eye was caught by a woman striding through the hotel lobby. It wasn’t just the flowing trousers and crisp white shirt she wore—the only woman not in a dress—it was the confidence of her movements, her complete ease despite the curious glances she was drawing, and it was also her short hairstyle that reminded Pip of Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday.'
In the present, around five years after the events that concluded In This Small Spot, Mother Theodora is approaching a milestone. Thoughts she had kept at the very back of her mind, not allowing herself to think about them, now seem impossible to stop. She’s plagued by self doubt and begins to question whether her work at St Bridget’s and the sacrifices she’d made had really been worthwhile.
'I used to feel. I used to feel everything, deeply, passionately. Now I am empty, wooden. How do I get that back? Please, help me.'
Also in the present, Lauren Thackeray has finally found a way to live in peace. She has a lovely home, her work making cloths and vestments for churches and her extended family and friends. And Episcopal priest, Gail Bauer, suffering from burn out, is also feeling uncertain about her vocation and beliefs.
An Unlit Candle is another incredible read from Caren Werlinger. She is an exceptional storyteller. This story focusses on three women, all from different walks of life but all suffering in some way and will become a lifeline for each other.
I enjoyed learning about Mother Theodora’s emotional and sometimes hard journey to where she is now. How, after a visit to a contemplative monastery with a friend, she felt the inexorable pull of the monastic life and the effect it had on her and her family. Emotions are conveyed with beautiful and heartfelt prose— love, doubt, reactions to change, sadness, grief, angst…
Another wonderfully written, multi-layered and captivating story, full of atmosphere and realistic and relatable characters that leave a strong impression. And the thread running through everything is St Bridget’s itself and how it impacts on everyone’s life. Both books are highly recommended.
We first meet Patricia (Pip) Horrigan in the late 1950s as she and brother accompany their parents to a ball at the Wasserman’s, where it pays to be seen. Mr Wasserman would play an ongoing role in Pip’s life.
The young Pip wanted more out of life than to be on the hunt for a husband, to the exasperation of her mother. Her father owned a flour mill and Pip’s ideas were to expand the business so they would make their own products rather than just selling the flour to other bakeries. On her way to a meeting one day Pip met Toni Andretti.
'Just then, Pip’s eye was caught by a woman striding through the hotel lobby. It wasn’t just the flowing trousers and crisp white shirt she wore—the only woman not in a dress—it was the confidence of her movements, her complete ease despite the curious glances she was drawing, and it was also her short hairstyle that reminded Pip of Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday.'
In the present, around five years after the events that concluded In This Small Spot, Mother Theodora is approaching a milestone. Thoughts she had kept at the very back of her mind, not allowing herself to think about them, now seem impossible to stop. She’s plagued by self doubt and begins to question whether her work at St Bridget’s and the sacrifices she’d made had really been worthwhile.
'I used to feel. I used to feel everything, deeply, passionately. Now I am empty, wooden. How do I get that back? Please, help me.'
Also in the present, Lauren Thackeray has finally found a way to live in peace. She has a lovely home, her work making cloths and vestments for churches and her extended family and friends. And Episcopal priest, Gail Bauer, suffering from burn out, is also feeling uncertain about her vocation and beliefs.
An Unlit Candle is another incredible read from Caren Werlinger. She is an exceptional storyteller. This story focusses on three women, all from different walks of life but all suffering in some way and will become a lifeline for each other.
I enjoyed learning about Mother Theodora’s emotional and sometimes hard journey to where she is now. How, after a visit to a contemplative monastery with a friend, she felt the inexorable pull of the monastic life and the effect it had on her and her family. Emotions are conveyed with beautiful and heartfelt prose— love, doubt, reactions to change, sadness, grief, angst…
Another wonderfully written, multi-layered and captivating story, full of atmosphere and realistic and relatable characters that leave a strong impression. And the thread running through everything is St Bridget’s itself and how it impacts on everyone’s life. Both books are highly recommended.
October 2, 2021
I write this review as a member of Rosie’s Book Review Team and thank her and the author for this opportunity.
I have read and reviewed several of Caren Werlinger’s novels (this is the fifth), and recently reviewed In This Small Spot, which also takes place, at least in part, at St Bridget’s Abbey and where we meet two of the protagonists of this story, As I loved it, I was eager to see what would happen here and who the novel would centre on, as there were a lot of characters I would have liked to learn more about.
As was the case in the previous novel, the action in this one is divided up between two timelines, both narrated in the third person, but from the point of view of the protagonists. One of the stories works, partly, as a prequel, as we learn the background story of one of the most important people in the Abbey, the Abbess herself, Mother Theodora (or, as we soon learn, Patricia, “Pip”, Horrigan), from the time she leaves school, determined to bring new ideas to her father’s business, in the 1950s, until the present day of the story. Her life is totally thrown into turmoil when she visits the abbey with Sister Ruth, a friend, and she is unable to ignore her vocation to become a nun. Once she enters the abbey, against her family’s wishes, she has to confront many things, about herself and those around her, and her story is also that of the abbey over the next fifty years. We get to follow not only what happens inside its doors, but also how the order and the people inside are affected by what goes on in the world and society at large, and also by the changes in the Catholic Church. The rest of the novel takes place a few years after the end of In This Small Spot, and we catch up on Lauren, a nun who had left St. Briget’s to live with the love of her life. She has settled into her new life, also pretty quiet, but a new person comes to disrupt her peace, Gail, an Episcopal priest whose own vocation is being sorely tested by several losses in her personal life that she finds extremely difficult to accept. How can she advise and console others in similar circumstances when she does not truly believe what she has been taught?
Some of the subjects that played a big part in the previous novel are here again: loss, grief, vocation, faith, but also the difficulty reconciling diverse calls, loves, vocations, duties, and deciding what is most important, reconnecting with your family, combining old traditions and calls to innovate, knowing when it’s time to move on, and giving yourself a second chance.
I loved getting to learn more about Mother Theodora. She is the guiding light of St. Bridget’s, and it was fascinating to get to learn how she got to be the person she is, and the hard times and difficulties she had to face to get there. I won’t go into details, but we get a good overview of life in the convent over the years and meet more of the nuns and learn about their roles and their stories. Her story exemplifies how much weight we can confer on other people’s words and opinions, and how sometimes people around us can inspire us and help us in unexpected ways, without expecting anything in return. I also came to understand quite well why Mickey, the protagonist from the first book, and Mother Theodora became fairly close friends so quickly, as there are evident similarities between the two women, their experiences and their outlook on life, even if they eventually chose a pretty different path.
Lauren’s story turns, partly, into a second chance romance, both for her and Gail, although rather than a story of passionate young romance, this is more of a story of soul mates meeting and realising they are better together. Both have to change the way they think, and this is particularly difficult for Lauren, but I can say, without revealing too much, that this time I’m sure everybody will be happy with the ending. Although this is not a laugh a minute story, not by a long chalk, but it is a moving and ultimately uplifting story about finding your own place and your own family, wherever and whoever they might be.
I have mentioned the beauty and lyricism of Werlinger’s writing, and that is in evidence here again. I always feel sorry when I get to the end of one of her stories, as I love the time I spend with her characters, in the wonderful communities she creates, and reading her gorgeous and moving prose. This time, the two stories and timelines complement each other well, flowing from one to the next and eventually converging in the present, at a pretty momentous point.
Many of the comments I made about the first novel apply here as well, and I won’t repeat them again. One doesn’t need to be Roman Catholic to enjoy the novel, and although some aspects of the story might appear very alien at first sight, quite a few of the experiences and turmoil the characters go through are pretty universal. Although I think the story can be read and enjoyed independently of the first, as one of the reviewers has said, the two novels feel like the two halves of a story, and I think they work better together, being read in the order of publication.
So, I will repeat my recommendation, with a few added notes. I recommend this novel to people who enjoy beautiful writing, reading about enclosed communities (particularly of women), those who might feel curious about monastic life, and anybody interested in characters going through major changes and crisis in their lives. There are sad moments, there is talk about passion and desire, but nothing too explicit, and there are characters facing crisis of vocation and faith, and getting over loss and grief. If any of these sound interesting, check a sample of the book, and if you like what you read, start with In This Small Spot and keep going. You’ll thank me later.
I have read and reviewed several of Caren Werlinger’s novels (this is the fifth), and recently reviewed In This Small Spot, which also takes place, at least in part, at St Bridget’s Abbey and where we meet two of the protagonists of this story, As I loved it, I was eager to see what would happen here and who the novel would centre on, as there were a lot of characters I would have liked to learn more about.
As was the case in the previous novel, the action in this one is divided up between two timelines, both narrated in the third person, but from the point of view of the protagonists. One of the stories works, partly, as a prequel, as we learn the background story of one of the most important people in the Abbey, the Abbess herself, Mother Theodora (or, as we soon learn, Patricia, “Pip”, Horrigan), from the time she leaves school, determined to bring new ideas to her father’s business, in the 1950s, until the present day of the story. Her life is totally thrown into turmoil when she visits the abbey with Sister Ruth, a friend, and she is unable to ignore her vocation to become a nun. Once she enters the abbey, against her family’s wishes, she has to confront many things, about herself and those around her, and her story is also that of the abbey over the next fifty years. We get to follow not only what happens inside its doors, but also how the order and the people inside are affected by what goes on in the world and society at large, and also by the changes in the Catholic Church. The rest of the novel takes place a few years after the end of In This Small Spot, and we catch up on Lauren, a nun who had left St. Briget’s to live with the love of her life. She has settled into her new life, also pretty quiet, but a new person comes to disrupt her peace, Gail, an Episcopal priest whose own vocation is being sorely tested by several losses in her personal life that she finds extremely difficult to accept. How can she advise and console others in similar circumstances when she does not truly believe what she has been taught?
Some of the subjects that played a big part in the previous novel are here again: loss, grief, vocation, faith, but also the difficulty reconciling diverse calls, loves, vocations, duties, and deciding what is most important, reconnecting with your family, combining old traditions and calls to innovate, knowing when it’s time to move on, and giving yourself a second chance.
I loved getting to learn more about Mother Theodora. She is the guiding light of St. Bridget’s, and it was fascinating to get to learn how she got to be the person she is, and the hard times and difficulties she had to face to get there. I won’t go into details, but we get a good overview of life in the convent over the years and meet more of the nuns and learn about their roles and their stories. Her story exemplifies how much weight we can confer on other people’s words and opinions, and how sometimes people around us can inspire us and help us in unexpected ways, without expecting anything in return. I also came to understand quite well why Mickey, the protagonist from the first book, and Mother Theodora became fairly close friends so quickly, as there are evident similarities between the two women, their experiences and their outlook on life, even if they eventually chose a pretty different path.
Lauren’s story turns, partly, into a second chance romance, both for her and Gail, although rather than a story of passionate young romance, this is more of a story of soul mates meeting and realising they are better together. Both have to change the way they think, and this is particularly difficult for Lauren, but I can say, without revealing too much, that this time I’m sure everybody will be happy with the ending. Although this is not a laugh a minute story, not by a long chalk, but it is a moving and ultimately uplifting story about finding your own place and your own family, wherever and whoever they might be.
I have mentioned the beauty and lyricism of Werlinger’s writing, and that is in evidence here again. I always feel sorry when I get to the end of one of her stories, as I love the time I spend with her characters, in the wonderful communities she creates, and reading her gorgeous and moving prose. This time, the two stories and timelines complement each other well, flowing from one to the next and eventually converging in the present, at a pretty momentous point.
Many of the comments I made about the first novel apply here as well, and I won’t repeat them again. One doesn’t need to be Roman Catholic to enjoy the novel, and although some aspects of the story might appear very alien at first sight, quite a few of the experiences and turmoil the characters go through are pretty universal. Although I think the story can be read and enjoyed independently of the first, as one of the reviewers has said, the two novels feel like the two halves of a story, and I think they work better together, being read in the order of publication.
So, I will repeat my recommendation, with a few added notes. I recommend this novel to people who enjoy beautiful writing, reading about enclosed communities (particularly of women), those who might feel curious about monastic life, and anybody interested in characters going through major changes and crisis in their lives. There are sad moments, there is talk about passion and desire, but nothing too explicit, and there are characters facing crisis of vocation and faith, and getting over loss and grief. If any of these sound interesting, check a sample of the book, and if you like what you read, start with In This Small Spot and keep going. You’ll thank me later.
September 28, 2021
Captivating
Caren Werlinger knows how to weave a story, capturing hopes, fears, joys, pain, disappointment, and so much more of what life brings to Pip, Lauren, Gail, Josie over a period of fifty years. I could not stop reading this book, so I didn’t stop till I finished. Such a good book!
Caren Werlinger knows how to weave a story, capturing hopes, fears, joys, pain, disappointment, and so much more of what life brings to Pip, Lauren, Gail, Josie over a period of fifty years. I could not stop reading this book, so I didn’t stop till I finished. Such a good book!
September 29, 2021
So Beautiful.
I loved An Unlit Candle. I started crying about page 4 and cried all the way through. So beautifully written. Caren Werlinger takes the thoughts from her head, the feelings in her heart and gets her hands to write it all down. Words cannot describe how moving this book is. You will understand it better if you read In This Small Spot first.
I loved An Unlit Candle. I started crying about page 4 and cried all the way through. So beautifully written. Caren Werlinger takes the thoughts from her head, the feelings in her heart and gets her hands to write it all down. Words cannot describe how moving this book is. You will understand it better if you read In This Small Spot first.
September 30, 2024
4.5 rounded. This is my second book read by Werlinger. I of course first read In This Small Spot, for An Unlit Candle could confuse a reader without first reading that masterpiece. Though An Unlit Candle did not make me cry like its prequel did, it was nonetheless a spiritual and respectful story of the relationships of women who love women, no matter their vocation (spoiler alert: there are a lot of nuns.) This is low steam, slow burn, sapphic nunnery. Prayer is a big component of this duology, and without a feminist Catholic upbringing, I don't think I could appreciate these as much as I do. Pardon me while I slowly purchase everything Werlinger has ever written, because I could not put these two books down, no matter how slow the plot was.
September 24, 2021
It's rare to read a book that is so intelligent and so profound. It's the rare author who can do this time after time. Werlinger does this, time after time.
"An Unlit Candle" gives the reader a more in-depth look at Mother Theodora, her early years and her time at St. Bridget's, her life of obedience at the expense of her heart. We met Sister Theodora in "In this Small Spot" (which is suggested reading before you read this book).
We see how Lauren Thackeray (Sister Anselma) is progressing through life after the convent and after the loss of her beloved Micky.
This is a lush, beautifully written story about the lives of these women, in the past and in the present. I didn't want this book to end!
"An Unlit Candle" gives the reader a more in-depth look at Mother Theodora, her early years and her time at St. Bridget's, her life of obedience at the expense of her heart. We met Sister Theodora in "In this Small Spot" (which is suggested reading before you read this book).
We see how Lauren Thackeray (Sister Anselma) is progressing through life after the convent and after the loss of her beloved Micky.
This is a lush, beautifully written story about the lives of these women, in the past and in the present. I didn't want this book to end!
March 31, 2025
This gives me closure from all the heartache from the first book.
November 2, 2021
An exquisite novel, following the lifelines of two incredible characters, one choosing the call to monastic life and remaining faithfull to her love for God and the other choosing her heart after tweenty years in a convent, yet still her religious side is a very important part of her life and she tries to find her way in the world outside the convent, which is uncharted territory for whom she became now.
Mother Theodora and Lauren are very much different, but so much alike in their religious personas and also to their love for people showing their human personas.
This is a sequel to „In This Small Spot”, continuing Lauren’s (sister Anselma’s) story in the present and Mother Theodora’s story from the past (between the years 1960 and 2000).
I loved the way Mother Theodora’s story the story from her past was told separately from Lauren’s story from the present, but still they are entwined at the most precise moments in each of their lives now.
There are many themes touched in this book which are unique in lesfic :
the calling to monastic life, how to understand and make the difference between the real call to monastic life or choose monastic life due to different circumstances in life : poverty, family feud, lost love, despair or confusion, depression;
the challenges of monastic life, why is it so hard to stay in the convent and fullfil the calling to monastic life when so many leave it for the life outside of it;
how is monastic life in a contemplative monastery;
what is monastic silence and how is it useful;
what are monastic retreats;
why would one choose a contemplative religious life;
what happens to a former nun when she leaves the convent, how will she adapt to the outside world and so many others.
The meaning of the title „ An Unlit Candle„: monastic life is not easy, especialy in a contemplative Catholic monastery like St.Bridget’s abbey, and of course there will be nuns who will want to proceed with the traditional ways and otthers who will want to follow the second Vatican council’s needs of the modern world. Mother Teodora, while she was sister Theodora had a powerful opposant in sister Beatrice who challenged her calling to monastic life: „You think God has called you. You think you’re special. [..] You’re nothing. You’re as much use to him as…an unlit candle in the dark” . This was an incredible metaphor and shows the real power of sister Theodora’s calling from back then until the end. I think this was a genius move and this cemented the foundation of the future mother superior, Mother Theodora.
Mother Theodora’s story is so well written, starting with her as a young girl living with her Irish/Canadian family as Patricia or „Pip” and then her meeting some amazing people like Mr.Wasserman and Tony who changed her life, and how she heard her calling to monastic life twice and the moment she chosethe monastic life and then her life in the monastery with all the hard things and sacrfices within it like the poverty vow and the chastity vow and all the tempations along the way. Mother Theodora is a real example for the woman who heard God’s calling and no matter the sacrifices it takes, she will remain faithful to her love for God. I loved how Caren J. Werlinger chose to make her a little justice in the end, it was really unexpected, but perfect.
I loved that Mother Theodora’s story shows her life from when she was young and unexperienced, until she became sister Theodora and Mother Theodora later. The difference of the way she thought and behaved through the years, especially the late years, made me wonder on how life is, how we can make the right choices and how to analyze them later in life. Regrets have no place in her life choices, wheather people understand it or not. She is very special character.
Then, we have Lauren. In the sequel, Lauren is very different from sister Anselma and from the Lauren before the tragedy with Mickey. Sister Anselma is happy living in the monastery for the last twenty years , she discoverd her talent and she was patiently working in the vestement room, she was a leader, a little ice queen, because she kept herself very private until Mickey came around, changed her world, saved her, then threw her in a whole new world outside the monastery and the happy Lauren with Mickey, until tragedy struck gain.
How many blows can a human withstand?
This new Lauren, somehow came back to the private person she used to be in the monastery, she tries to complement her religious side with this whole new human side of her living in her home, the one Mickey built for her , keeping in touch with Mickey’s brother Jamie and her sister in law Jennifer and their children and working as a restaurator of religious vestments for museums or other locations Jennifer helped her with.
I liked the fact that the reader sees Lauren through the other character’s eyes, through Gail’s, Mother Theodora’s or Jennifer’s eyes. She is a really beautiful woman having a blonde and whillowy figure, dressing in earthy tones with a big heart. She is like a wonderful wrapped gift ready to be discovered/unpacked by careful hands.
Everyone hopes she will find love again.
Then, Mother Theodara comes into the spotlight without even wanting to. I loved how Gail (an Episcopal priest) was introduced in Lauren’s life through Mother Theodora’s intervention. And, I, also, loved how Mother Theodora found a little justice in the end through Lauren’s and Gail’s help.
There are many amazing moments from this book that stayed with me.
I can’t get out of my head the image from Lauren’s backyard from the foyer where she goes in the mornings with her cat Kyrie and a cup of coffee and listens to the sister’s prayers and songs from her former monestery, St.Bridge’s, it’s absolutely beautiful and it shows her whole personality at peace (her religious persona and her mundane persona).
I adored this book, it made me self conscious, I learned so much about monastic life (a monastery’s schedule and how the nuns prayed in Latin), I cried and I became impressed with the depth of the characters’s thoughs, contracdictions, sorrows,joys and ways of life.
I recommend the readers to read „In This Small Spot” by Caren J. Werlinger first, because there we have Lauren’s earlier story involving Mickey and glimpses of Mother Theodora’s life while all three of them where at St. Bridges monastery.
This book is not a romance, yet it is a remarkable lifestory of two special flawed characters who hold so much beauty inside, no matter what life throws at them. Religion is special in their lives, it’s a part of them and whom they’ll ever will be. This is a book for readers who want to understand monastic life within and outside a contemplative convent and get impressed by the amazing characters mentioned above. This book will change the reader, but you will need to be ready to open up for something very different in lesbian fiction/non-fiction.
I recommend it with all my heart.
Mother Theodora and Lauren are very much different, but so much alike in their religious personas and also to their love for people showing their human personas.
This is a sequel to „In This Small Spot”, continuing Lauren’s (sister Anselma’s) story in the present and Mother Theodora’s story from the past (between the years 1960 and 2000).
I loved the way Mother Theodora’s story the story from her past was told separately from Lauren’s story from the present, but still they are entwined at the most precise moments in each of their lives now.
There are many themes touched in this book which are unique in lesfic :
the calling to monastic life, how to understand and make the difference between the real call to monastic life or choose monastic life due to different circumstances in life : poverty, family feud, lost love, despair or confusion, depression;
the challenges of monastic life, why is it so hard to stay in the convent and fullfil the calling to monastic life when so many leave it for the life outside of it;
how is monastic life in a contemplative monastery;
what is monastic silence and how is it useful;
what are monastic retreats;
why would one choose a contemplative religious life;
what happens to a former nun when she leaves the convent, how will she adapt to the outside world and so many others.
The meaning of the title „ An Unlit Candle„: monastic life is not easy, especialy in a contemplative Catholic monastery like St.Bridget’s abbey, and of course there will be nuns who will want to proceed with the traditional ways and otthers who will want to follow the second Vatican council’s needs of the modern world. Mother Teodora, while she was sister Theodora had a powerful opposant in sister Beatrice who challenged her calling to monastic life: „You think God has called you. You think you’re special. [..] You’re nothing. You’re as much use to him as…an unlit candle in the dark” . This was an incredible metaphor and shows the real power of sister Theodora’s calling from back then until the end. I think this was a genius move and this cemented the foundation of the future mother superior, Mother Theodora.
Mother Theodora’s story is so well written, starting with her as a young girl living with her Irish/Canadian family as Patricia or „Pip” and then her meeting some amazing people like Mr.Wasserman and Tony who changed her life, and how she heard her calling to monastic life twice and the moment she chosethe monastic life and then her life in the monastery with all the hard things and sacrfices within it like the poverty vow and the chastity vow and all the tempations along the way. Mother Theodora is a real example for the woman who heard God’s calling and no matter the sacrifices it takes, she will remain faithful to her love for God. I loved how Caren J. Werlinger chose to make her a little justice in the end, it was really unexpected, but perfect.
I loved that Mother Theodora’s story shows her life from when she was young and unexperienced, until she became sister Theodora and Mother Theodora later. The difference of the way she thought and behaved through the years, especially the late years, made me wonder on how life is, how we can make the right choices and how to analyze them later in life. Regrets have no place in her life choices, wheather people understand it or not. She is very special character.
Then, we have Lauren. In the sequel, Lauren is very different from sister Anselma and from the Lauren before the tragedy with Mickey. Sister Anselma is happy living in the monastery for the last twenty years , she discoverd her talent and she was patiently working in the vestement room, she was a leader, a little ice queen, because she kept herself very private until Mickey came around, changed her world, saved her, then threw her in a whole new world outside the monastery and the happy Lauren with Mickey, until tragedy struck gain.
How many blows can a human withstand?
This new Lauren, somehow came back to the private person she used to be in the monastery, she tries to complement her religious side with this whole new human side of her living in her home, the one Mickey built for her , keeping in touch with Mickey’s brother Jamie and her sister in law Jennifer and their children and working as a restaurator of religious vestments for museums or other locations Jennifer helped her with.
I liked the fact that the reader sees Lauren through the other character’s eyes, through Gail’s, Mother Theodora’s or Jennifer’s eyes. She is a really beautiful woman having a blonde and whillowy figure, dressing in earthy tones with a big heart. She is like a wonderful wrapped gift ready to be discovered/unpacked by careful hands.
Everyone hopes she will find love again.
Then, Mother Theodara comes into the spotlight without even wanting to. I loved how Gail (an Episcopal priest) was introduced in Lauren’s life through Mother Theodora’s intervention. And, I, also, loved how Mother Theodora found a little justice in the end through Lauren’s and Gail’s help.
There are many amazing moments from this book that stayed with me.
I can’t get out of my head the image from Lauren’s backyard from the foyer where she goes in the mornings with her cat Kyrie and a cup of coffee and listens to the sister’s prayers and songs from her former monestery, St.Bridge’s, it’s absolutely beautiful and it shows her whole personality at peace (her religious persona and her mundane persona).
I adored this book, it made me self conscious, I learned so much about monastic life (a monastery’s schedule and how the nuns prayed in Latin), I cried and I became impressed with the depth of the characters’s thoughs, contracdictions, sorrows,joys and ways of life.
I recommend the readers to read „In This Small Spot” by Caren J. Werlinger first, because there we have Lauren’s earlier story involving Mickey and glimpses of Mother Theodora’s life while all three of them where at St. Bridges monastery.
This book is not a romance, yet it is a remarkable lifestory of two special flawed characters who hold so much beauty inside, no matter what life throws at them. Religion is special in their lives, it’s a part of them and whom they’ll ever will be. This is a book for readers who want to understand monastic life within and outside a contemplative convent and get impressed by the amazing characters mentioned above. This book will change the reader, but you will need to be ready to open up for something very different in lesbian fiction/non-fiction.
I recommend it with all my heart.
September 29, 2021
A weaving through monastic community and the women who serve.
A follow up to In This Small Spot, Welinger gives a magnificent view of the years that tell how Mother Theadore (Pip)served at St. Bridges. The characters are woven through history in the true depth of emotional journey. No one tells a story over so many years like this author. It was so beautiful to see Lauren (Sister Anselma) able to move her life forward. While telling the lives of Pip, her family and love that dedication to her call would see challengged. The overall dedication to a call to community and life where the cost can be so harsh. The characters have flaws, don't have answers to life's events, yet try to serve a call that at times they have no idea what is required.
The Catholic life is spelled out in such detail as we see that life in the monastery is a truely incredible story. A look at a time when when devotion was not question and faith meant so much more. I can't begin to express all this brilliantly written story gave me. I felt the very real emotions that these women shared, the doubt, deep family love, a new love that changes so much. I am not Catholic but as most do I struggle to hear that small voice in the noise of the world. To see the courage these women have captured my very soul to see life differently. Very time I think I have read the best by this author who writes life stories you want to live in- she writes another one that captures so much more. Enjoy this story but be ready to feel heart full and unable to put it down.
A follow up to In This Small Spot, Welinger gives a magnificent view of the years that tell how Mother Theadore (Pip)served at St. Bridges. The characters are woven through history in the true depth of emotional journey. No one tells a story over so many years like this author. It was so beautiful to see Lauren (Sister Anselma) able to move her life forward. While telling the lives of Pip, her family and love that dedication to her call would see challengged. The overall dedication to a call to community and life where the cost can be so harsh. The characters have flaws, don't have answers to life's events, yet try to serve a call that at times they have no idea what is required.
The Catholic life is spelled out in such detail as we see that life in the monastery is a truely incredible story. A look at a time when when devotion was not question and faith meant so much more. I can't begin to express all this brilliantly written story gave me. I felt the very real emotions that these women shared, the doubt, deep family love, a new love that changes so much. I am not Catholic but as most do I struggle to hear that small voice in the noise of the world. To see the courage these women have captured my very soul to see life differently. Very time I think I have read the best by this author who writes life stories you want to live in- she writes another one that captures so much more. Enjoy this story but be ready to feel heart full and unable to put it down.
November 17, 2021
AN UNLIT CANDLE by Caren J. Werlinger is an incredibly beautiful novel, deep, rich, complex, touching. I have not read IN THIS SMALL SPOT--I will soon--but this is both a sequel and a great stand-alone novel as well. Three women are challenged to look at their lives--where they've been, where they are, and where they are going. All these women are impacted in different ways by St. Bridget's Abbey, a cloistered home for contemplative nuns. All are facing a moment of decision, and their interactions affect each other. It's a great story, well-plotted, sensitive, and with marvelous characters. HIghly recommended.
July 5, 2023
Such a beautiful story, It's not perfect but it feels wholesome in a way. 'Invisible, As Music' remains my favorite, but this one and the first book of the series have filled my soul in ways I cannot express.
September 30, 2021
4.5 stars
Also an amazing book. But I definitely loved the prequel more
Also an amazing book. But I definitely loved the prequel more
March 4, 2022
4.5 Stars
February 11, 2023
Another wonderful, well written book by CJW. The story weaves past and present together with deep emotions.
Read
September 12, 2024It is not bad but after the events off book 1, I just can't seem to get past them and accept the events of this book.
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