Where God is Ever found; From Cloister to Couple, A Woman's Autumn Journey Paperback – Import, 16 November 2012

Karen Fredette takes us on a remarkable journey into the routine, as well as the unexpected twists and turns of life - not only her life, but our own lives as well. We laugh with her. We cry with her. We ponder questions deep and meaningful. We look at life and death. We discover it is possible to enjoy and be at peace in the valleys as well as on the hilltops. And, we discover God is in every area of our own lives.Few, if any of us, will ever spend 30 years as a cloistered nun, another 6 years as a hermit, followed by 16 years as a wife living with her husband (a former cleric) in an eremitical way of life in the Smokie Mountains of North Carolina. Hers is a most unique story, a most unique journey. It's a privilege to be allow to travel with her as she risks opening the various doors of her life.In letting us into these recesses of her life, Karen Fredette invites us to look more deeply at our own stories, our own journeys and to see where God is found in the many twists and turns of our own lives. "Where God is Ever Found" truly is a book to be read more than once, a book to be savored and contemplated, and a book to be shared with others striving to know where God is ever found.

A good read - kind of a light personal memoir with a lot of thought provoking bits sprinkled generously throughout. Despite the title, this ISN'T just for women, or for Roman Catholics (I'm neither) but for anyone willing to take a deep and honest look at the nature of God, their own spirituality and the responsibilities that spring from the answers.

arrived in good condition.

Having read Karper's first book, I was thrilled to see the second emerge. I was hoping to learn how a couple live the hermit life and what their daily routines might look like. Did they find themselves tripping over eachother and intruding into the other's space? How did they integrate couple time with peronal solitude? Did they share meal preparation or divide chores? There were many stories, some wonderfully touching as in the death of their dog and how that was shared as a couple. Others out of place and gave the book a fragmented feel as in the time spent dicussing publishing issues. The lack of insight on them as a couple made the story of her accident and subsequent alienation from her husband alarming, making him look emotionally challenged and immature at best. Then there are the shots taken at the Catholic Church, religious life and the celibate priesthood. As one who has worked in the Church for 30 years, I have certainly seen this before. Karper is not a priest and neither is her husband in good standing, regardless of how they celebrate their own version of the Eucharist. They are among the good people who want the Church to conform to accommodate their chosen lifestyle and then blame it on the pediphile crisis or what happened in the novitiate as an excuse to cut and run. I found the shots at the Church scattered throughout the book to be offensive and shallow. I am left with questions about a couple living a hermit life together which would have been a much better read in my opinion.

A priest and a nun/hermit fall in love... and complications ensue. I love Karen Karper's journey... from thirty years as a cloistered Poor Clare, to gentle, if often frustrated, hermit, to single woman writer, falling in love with Paul Fredette along the way. She's frank about the ups and downs of their relationship, and it's interesting to hear how two people who were vowed to poverty eventually established a living for themselves in the mountains of North Carolina. Sometimes the narrative is fragmented and choppy, and while I was touched that she shared so much about the death of both of their mothers and her father, these events didn't seem to fit well with the broader narrative. Still, it's a good book about marriage, living a life of contemplation and service, and the mountain culture of the mid-Appalachian mountain range.