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A Memory for Wonders: A True Story
Here for the first time is a captivating autobiography of a French girl raised in the wild Moroccan frontier by her communist parents who fled France and vowed that "no one would speak to her of God and influence the development of her mind with oppressive superstition." Everything in her education, environment and training was targeted toward making her a perfect product of Marxist atheism. She sucked anti-Catholicism with her mother's milk. But God had other plans for Lucette. Emotionally neglected by her parents, Lucette became a "difficult child" leading a colorful life full of mischievous adventure all the while experiencing an unutterable loneliness. But the Hound of Heaven was gently pursuing her. At the age of three, upon witnessing the overwhelming beauty of a sunset after a violent sirocco sand storm, she gained the unshakable certainty that this beauty was created, and that there was a God. She began to pray. That was the first link in a chain of remarkable events that grace alone could forge, which led her to embrace the faith and become a Poor Clare nun in Algiers. Disowned by her parents, she put all her trust in Him for whom all things are possible. Her faith was rewarded with a dramatic answer to the prayers of her heart. Lucette, now Mother Veronica Namoyo, is an Abbess and foundress of two flourishing monasteries in Africa.
189 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1993
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513 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
August 15, 2023
Wow, wow, wow. I am in awe of the way God worked in this woman’s life. Every encounter of faith was truly miraculous - this story serves as a prime example that God’s grace is abundant and what a wonderful adventure our lives can be if we cooperate with His grace! This book had me in tears at the end. SO GOOD!!
March 22, 2022
Beautiful writing of quite a life story! I was captivated. I did feel toward the end that it was maybe a bit rushed and hard to follow. But it was very enjoyable and inspiring read!
July 20, 2009
I read this book from Ignatius Press many years ago. Mother Namoyo wrote her autobiography out of obedience to her religious superior, who directed her to write her story, much like St. Thérèse of Lisieux, in Story of a Soul. The forward is written by Mother Mary Francis, who wrote A Right to be Merry, another excellent book about the religious life.
Mother Namoyo grew up the only child of socialist atheist parents who kept their daughter from ever hearing any stories about God. Although she was born in France, her parents moved to North Africa, in part to keep her from any religious influence. Little did they know, her grandmother secretly baptized her before they left and planted a seed which would grow. Despite growing up without any religious instruction whatsoever, Mother Namoyo tells of the tremendous graces that were showered upon her and the how interior knowledge of Christ and his passion were made known to her.
This is a remarkable story with an equally remarkable ending. An inspiring read that I need to re-read soon.
Mother Namoyo grew up the only child of socialist atheist parents who kept their daughter from ever hearing any stories about God. Although she was born in France, her parents moved to North Africa, in part to keep her from any religious influence. Little did they know, her grandmother secretly baptized her before they left and planted a seed which would grow. Despite growing up without any religious instruction whatsoever, Mother Namoyo tells of the tremendous graces that were showered upon her and the how interior knowledge of Christ and his passion were made known to her.
This is a remarkable story with an equally remarkable ending. An inspiring read that I need to re-read soon.
March 29, 2022
I always enjoy reading memoirs and this one is especially interesting. Born in the 1920s, her parents were French Marxists who taught in Morocco. She had a supernatural encounter with Christ at a very young age and goes on to become a Catholic nun who founded two monasteries in Africa. She deals honestly and humbly about her difficult relationship with her mother and about her own faults.
March 5, 2022
The daughter of two communist atheists, who pretty much hated the Catholic church, grows up to be the abbess of a religious monastery. How exactly did that happen? This autobiography tells of the first 22 years of Mother Veronica Namoyo (Lucette) and how God found her, even though she didn't even know who or what he was.
This is an easy read and gives insight on what growing up on the eve of World War II. And a reminder that you can run from God, but you can't hide.
This is an easy read and gives insight on what growing up on the eve of World War II. And a reminder that you can run from God, but you can't hide.
April 16, 2022
This is a true story about the childhood of a Catholic nun. It was a very interesting read and I pretty much read it in one setting. It's a very striking story as she was raised completely as an atheist, by very anti Catholic parents (although they themselves were raised Catholic). The grace of God in her life is astounding and He clearly wasn't going to let one of His own be lost (she was secretly baptized as an infant). Much to ponder in this book.
October 17, 2014
A truly remarkable story. Quite inspirational but not surprising in the least, Mother Veronica ' s autobiography proves that when you leave your life up to God, he can usually do a better job fulfilling your deepest desires and utilizing your talents and gifts than you could on your own.
February 5, 2022
Fascinating story about a Catholic nun who was raised without knowledge of God or Jesus by atheist parents who were heavily involved in communism. Can’t wait to discuss with my book club. I took off a star because the story line and translation were choppy in some parts.
November 6, 2022
A memoir written by a nun for her order and released for public consumption after the author was convinced by a co-religious that it would be beneficial for souls. I feel blessed to have access to such a witness that would otherwise have remained in the confines of a monastery but this was not a well-written book. Rather than a chronological telling of her life, this is a collection of memories. It reads like you are sitting around listening to grandma tell you about her childhood: “let me back up”, “oh, and another story”, “and that reminds me of this other time”. I found it irritating. But her life was fascinating and the stories of God at work in her strictly communist/atheist anti-Catholic upbringing were encouraging for the believer if a bit too fantastical for the non-believer. I wish it had been better written and more fluid, but I’m glad I read it.
June 21, 2016
The book is aptly titled, as it is the most incredible story of a woman who was raised in a completely a-religious home by communist parents who ends up becoming a Carmelite nun through a series of mystical and natural encounters with the Divine. To say that her story is faith building is an understatement.
March 12, 2022
This is such a powerful story! This is a story of the profound power of the Holy Spirit. As one woman in my book club, "it's so encouraging as a mom because it shows that no matter how much you screw up, the Holy Spirit can still work wonders!!"
June 19, 2022
This was an inspirational and interesting read. It was written semi-conversationally which was at times really neat, seeming like a chat with the author about her life, but sometimes it led to stories going off the timeline and weaving back. Overall it was a great book and quite a fascinating read.
March 5, 2022
This autobiography of a nun who grew up in an atheistic and socialist family in French Morocco in the 1930’s and 40’s is such a fascinating read. Her descriptive language is beautiful and many times I could so clearly picture the towns and cities she visited. I would love to learn more about her life after she joined the cloister!
March 9, 2022
How is it that the child of two atheists becomes a child of God? Read this engaging journey and prepare yourself for an impossible ending.
Oh, but nothing is impossible with God!
Oh, but nothing is impossible with God!
January 26, 2013
I love the idea of a precocious child growing into a great living saint!
July 21, 2015
This is one of the most beautifully written and moving books I have read
March 31, 2022
Such an interesting perspective as this woman with an atheistic communist background makes her way to the cloistered life. Truly a beautiful tale.
“As a child I was to tell my friends: ‘You have only four grandparents, but I had five, and one of them cried when I left him.’ Somehow this old man made me conscious of being loved. My parents loved me, too, but were so involved in their own desires and activities, so young and unprepared, that they never gave me this warm feeling.” pp. 23-24
“Then there was a little interior light. It was difficult. I struggled and caught it: it was God through Grandmother who had acted. He had used her. He could do anything. But what was his own part in each event?” p. 45
“But one day I tried to pat a beautiful, golden, furry bee and was stung. I did not mind so much the swollen finger as the pain of misunderstood intentions.” p. 53
“Having been involved for so long with the Communist Party, I believe that much of its past success came from the fact that it makes a constant appeal to our aggressive instincts, while Christianity is far more occupied in controlling, taming and reducing them. To link what is best in man: love of justice, compassion and desire for a harmonious society with all the strength of hatred, revolt, readiness for battle and triumph over one’s enemies is a tremendous asset. Hating injustice and oppression is perfectly natural, and all children have a deep sense of fairness. Developing this into hatred of the unjust and oppressors is very easy. Then you have only to point out which “oppressors“ have to be destroyed - by any means. When you allow yourself to hate, your heart hardens and becomes indifferent to other values.” (pp. 73-74)
“It is almost impossible for a born Catholic to understand the problems and sufferings of some converts. Many come from prejudice; but there are some prejudices that are just an exaggeration of the truth and are therefore very hard to disprove. Some also come from environment and culture and have very deep roots and emotional content.” (p. 127)
“The Eucharist alone brought me, very unwillingly, to the threshold of the Catholic Church; and only after this threshold was passed did I discover the other riches inside.” (p. 128)
“More than anything else on earth I wanted to meet him, but unconsciously I was also expecting that this would be a moving event. So it surprised me that, instead, it stilled me. As soon as the Host was secure in me and I was back on my bench, this stillness penetrated me. Even physically I could not move. At the same time the touch was so light, the heart so gently held, that maybe this unknown Presence-filled silence, this attentive stillness was necessary in order to perceive the Lord’s Eucharistic Gift.” (pp. 131-132)
“ One day [Father Esquerro] told me in his broken French, “You are always anxious. Your love is imperfect, not because of what you have just said, but because you feel that your anxiety is more holy than the peace of Jesus.’” (p. 134)
“But somehow there was light in the priest’s question, perhaps all the light I was to need. I told him then, ‘I work for people who live in much misery. How can we dare to speak of joy there?’ My Jesuit prophet answered, ‘Take this image of Saint Francis of Assisi and read the beautiful saying at the bottom: ‘Joy springs from purity of heart and constant prayer.’ A pure heart is a humble heart, and constant prayer is a miracle of love.‘“ (p. 157)
“As a child I was to tell my friends: ‘You have only four grandparents, but I had five, and one of them cried when I left him.’ Somehow this old man made me conscious of being loved. My parents loved me, too, but were so involved in their own desires and activities, so young and unprepared, that they never gave me this warm feeling.” pp. 23-24
“Then there was a little interior light. It was difficult. I struggled and caught it: it was God through Grandmother who had acted. He had used her. He could do anything. But what was his own part in each event?” p. 45
“But one day I tried to pat a beautiful, golden, furry bee and was stung. I did not mind so much the swollen finger as the pain of misunderstood intentions.” p. 53
“Having been involved for so long with the Communist Party, I believe that much of its past success came from the fact that it makes a constant appeal to our aggressive instincts, while Christianity is far more occupied in controlling, taming and reducing them. To link what is best in man: love of justice, compassion and desire for a harmonious society with all the strength of hatred, revolt, readiness for battle and triumph over one’s enemies is a tremendous asset. Hating injustice and oppression is perfectly natural, and all children have a deep sense of fairness. Developing this into hatred of the unjust and oppressors is very easy. Then you have only to point out which “oppressors“ have to be destroyed - by any means. When you allow yourself to hate, your heart hardens and becomes indifferent to other values.” (pp. 73-74)
“It is almost impossible for a born Catholic to understand the problems and sufferings of some converts. Many come from prejudice; but there are some prejudices that are just an exaggeration of the truth and are therefore very hard to disprove. Some also come from environment and culture and have very deep roots and emotional content.” (p. 127)
“The Eucharist alone brought me, very unwillingly, to the threshold of the Catholic Church; and only after this threshold was passed did I discover the other riches inside.” (p. 128)
“More than anything else on earth I wanted to meet him, but unconsciously I was also expecting that this would be a moving event. So it surprised me that, instead, it stilled me. As soon as the Host was secure in me and I was back on my bench, this stillness penetrated me. Even physically I could not move. At the same time the touch was so light, the heart so gently held, that maybe this unknown Presence-filled silence, this attentive stillness was necessary in order to perceive the Lord’s Eucharistic Gift.” (pp. 131-132)
“ One day [Father Esquerro] told me in his broken French, “You are always anxious. Your love is imperfect, not because of what you have just said, but because you feel that your anxiety is more holy than the peace of Jesus.’” (p. 134)
“But somehow there was light in the priest’s question, perhaps all the light I was to need. I told him then, ‘I work for people who live in much misery. How can we dare to speak of joy there?’ My Jesuit prophet answered, ‘Take this image of Saint Francis of Assisi and read the beautiful saying at the bottom: ‘Joy springs from purity of heart and constant prayer.’ A pure heart is a humble heart, and constant prayer is a miracle of love.‘“ (p. 157)
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March 8, 2022Thrill-seeking and mischievous daughter of convicted atheist socialists pledges membership to the communist party, serves the poor in the slums of Algeria, and joins the Catholic Church (all concurrently) at the insistent call of God. She eventually becomes a cloistered nun and abbess.
It’s all as unexpected as it sounds and clearly highlights the way God seeks us out despite our (or our parents’) best efforts to thwart Him.
She did not write this intending it to be published and the short read is accordingly unpolished, but even that helped make it all the more credible somehow. It wasn’t your next Girl, Go Treat Yo’self kind of book. There was nothing self-aggrandizing and she wasn’t trying to convince anyone of anything. In fact, I get the sense that she’s on the other side of both church and secular politics as myself, if I may put it so bluntly, but I finished the book without holding it against her.
There’s also some wild stories about life in Morocco and Algeria during and prior to WWII - the locust plague and black ant invasion sound like the stuff of nightmares! Not to mention the typhus epidemic and bombing raids.
tl;dr This short read is packed. Highly recommend.
It’s all as unexpected as it sounds and clearly highlights the way God seeks us out despite our (or our parents’) best efforts to thwart Him.
She did not write this intending it to be published and the short read is accordingly unpolished, but even that helped make it all the more credible somehow. It wasn’t your next Girl, Go Treat Yo’self kind of book. There was nothing self-aggrandizing and she wasn’t trying to convince anyone of anything. In fact, I get the sense that she’s on the other side of both church and secular politics as myself, if I may put it so bluntly, but I finished the book without holding it against her.
There’s also some wild stories about life in Morocco and Algeria during and prior to WWII - the locust plague and black ant invasion sound like the stuff of nightmares! Not to mention the typhus epidemic and bombing raids.
tl;dr This short read is packed. Highly recommend.
April 9, 2022
A French contemplative Franciscan nun living in Africa narrated her life story only because she was compelled to do so by her vow of obedience to her abbess—thank God for the abbess’s foresight and insistence. Primarily recounting her adventures before entering the cloister, Mother Veronica Namoyo Le Goulard shares her thoughts, reflections, and antidotes in a sincere and frank writing style that may strike the reader as unpolished and drab at times. However, the work of God in the life of a soul—far from uninspiring—is an amazing feat of unparalleled genius; and against all odds the daughter of militant atheists comes to know and serve the Lord—despite their most determined efforts to the contrary. I found the book’s content to be remarkable and quite difficult to explain apart from the action of a Higher Power. In addition to strengthening my faith, I was deeply moved to tears by God’s abundant love as evidenced throughout the narrative and particularly by the conversions that conclude Mother’s story.
July 18, 2022
This was a unique and fascinating memoir of the childhood of Mother Veronica, who later became a nun serving in Africa. However, the book tells nothing about her life as a religious; it is the story of her childhood and youth and ends with her joining the convent.
The book is partly an interesting tale of her unconventional childhood as the child of a French Communist atheist couple living in Africa and partly a spiritual and mystical memoir of a soul being sought out by God and found by him.
I enjoyed experiencing the unusual setting and time of the book and the historical anecdotes and tidbits. I also appreciated the author's deep love for God and obvious mystical experiences coupled with tidbits of practicality and realism about the church.
The book is partly an interesting tale of her unconventional childhood as the child of a French Communist atheist couple living in Africa and partly a spiritual and mystical memoir of a soul being sought out by God and found by him.
I enjoyed experiencing the unusual setting and time of the book and the historical anecdotes and tidbits. I also appreciated the author's deep love for God and obvious mystical experiences coupled with tidbits of practicality and realism about the church.
August 5, 2023
An absolutely amazing read, even though I was on a slump while reading this, it still has enough interesting plot to keep me going, although that Is not why I read the book. This short little memoir about a young women who grew up with communist parents and then at the age of 19 had a miraculous conversion to Wich later on in life she becomes Sister Veronica Namayo is incredible. I cried so much while reading this but especially the chapter in which she is retelling her childhood, I highly recommend for any Catholic who wants a good story about a nun, and even though it doesn't look like much, I promise you that you will fly right through it in this thrilling tale.
July 25, 2025
In her world, Sr Veronica Namoyo, God was never talked about. Her parents were socialists atheists. Un be known to her parents, her grandmother baptized her as a toddler. They moved to Morocco to get away from Christian influence. Her father was a Communist as Lucette his was only child. She grew up with this and often went with him to meetings. It is amazing that the seeds her grandmother planted, slowly started to blossom in wanting to know about Jesus, initially not even knowing his name. She did follow the Lord’s calling but it wasn’t easy. Her parents disowned her when she went into the monastery. What’s more spectacular was the ending. With God all things are possible.
March 12, 2022
Conflicted between her Marxist upbringing and her call by God, Lucette has many events in her life that help her to discern truth. She finds it in the Catholic faith against the wishes of her parents. Her baptism and call to the Eucharist are to strong to ignore. So many lovely happenings to meditate on. I was in awe of the ways God chose to entice her and the hope filled ending that leads you to tears.
April 2, 2022
A beautiful memoir, she describes the events of her life with such clarity that you are both saddened by her suffering, and rejoice in her happiness. Though I think this falls under a religious category, this is a story that many may appreciate as resonating with their own childhood experiences. I may have enjoyed this story more if I had actually read it, but I listened to an audiobook version thus the imperfect score.
April 4, 2022
This was an interesting look at life during the 1930s & 40s in Morocco from the perspective of a French girl whose father was a socialist activist. The events during WW2 including the typhus outbreak and an experimental, mandated vaccine (!!) felt close to home, reading this during the covid19 pandemic. The later part of the book where she fully converts to Catholicism was sadly less engagingly written than the earlier parts; I’m not sure why.
June 24, 2025
A journey of a Godless family to Faith in Him who is God
At times I struggled understanding the thoughts of communist doctrine. Yet amazed how God crept in to the minds and lives of unbelievers.
A fascinating, story told on the fringes of history as I knew it. So many different cultural ideas to learn, accept and to see their beauty.
A beautiful story.
A story I wanted to read, but did not expect I would, now grateful I did
At times I struggled understanding the thoughts of communist doctrine. Yet amazed how God crept in to the minds and lives of unbelievers.
A fascinating, story told on the fringes of history as I knew it. So many different cultural ideas to learn, accept and to see their beauty.
A beautiful story.
A story I wanted to read, but did not expect I would, now grateful I did
March 25, 2022
I didn't expect to find this as engaging as I did, considering it ended as she entered the convent and didn't go into her work establishing communities in Africa and training sisters there to take leadership roles. But as the introduction promised, she led quite the life in those first 20-odd years before she made her vows.
May 20, 2022
While her writing isn’t always clear, she does a great job explaining how graces were given to her throughout her life as well as those of her parents. She has a fascinating story, from atheism and intellectualism to serving others in slums and with the politics and dilemmas of communism and capitalism weaved in as well. Definitely worth reading.
February 9, 2022
What a remarkable journey of faith this took me on to understand the beautiful gift of obedience to God and the joy of prayer without ceasing can bring. This book was a great insight into how God can call each one of us in different ways to grow and develop a deep relationship with HIM.
March 11, 2022
“He has made us for himself and we are restless until we rest in him”
This story perfectly encapsulates this quote by St. Augustine. With literally everything in her upbringing against her learning about God He pursued her heart in the ordinary. This was a good book!!
This story perfectly encapsulates this quote by St. Augustine. With literally everything in her upbringing against her learning about God He pursued her heart in the ordinary. This was a good book!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews