Sister Julia Walsh will discuss For Love of the Broken Body: A Spiritual Memoir. A Q&A and signing will follow the discussion. Copies of the books will be available for purchase and refreshments will be provided.
RSVPs are encouraged to help us plan.
About the Book: At the age of 25, just a month into her novitiate as a Franciscan Sister, Julia Walsh fell from a cliff and became disfigured. While working toward healing, she felt pulled to religious community life, but also toward unresolved feelings regarding her own sexuality, identity, and injustice. For Love of the Broken Body is a story of pain, questioning, recovery, and discovery. What does it mean to exist as a broken body? Why would a young woman dedicate herself to the Catholic Church, to a life as a Franciscan Sister, while others are leaving churches in droves? The number of women choosing to enter religious life across the U.S. is shrinking rapidly, so Walsh encounters a lot of curiosity about her choice. In this memoir, she writes honestly about feeling drawn to men and to sex, as well as what it means, in this age of self-discovery and hook-ups, for a young woman, physically broken and still very much attracted to the world, to join a celibate, religious community.
About the Author: Sister Julia Walsh is a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration and part of her congregation’s formation team, serving women who are discerning their vocation. Along with another Franciscan Sister, she co-founded The Fireplace, an intentional community and house of hospitality on Chicago’s southside that offers spiritual support to artists and activists. She has an MA in Pastoral Studies from Catholic Theological Union and is a certified spiritual director and secondary teacher. As a creative writer, educator, retreat presenter, and speaker she is passionate about exploring the intersection of creativity, spirituality, activism, and community life. A regularly published spiritual writer, Sister Julia’s work can be found in publications such as America, Living Faith Catholic Devotional, Living City, National Catholic Reporter, and St. Anthony Messenger. She hosts the Messy Jesus Business blog and podcast and is on Twitter and Instagram as @JuliaFSPA.