Review: Little Sister: A Memoir

Little Sister: A Memoir by Patricia Walsh Chadwick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of those devour-in-a-day books. Written by Patricia Walsh Chadwick, this is her shocking story of a life spent in a renegade group, a cult, adhering strictly to the firm belief that there is "no salvation outside the Catholic Church". Father Leonard Feeney was the leader. Sister Catherine was his enforcer and usurper.

Ms. Chadwick was separated from her parents when she was just 5 and was placed into the care of the zealots, who believed in Feeney and his mission. Along with 39 other little kids, she was isolated, denied gentle love and care, and forbidden to speak with her own parents (they, too, were inmates). She was subjected regularly to emotional and physical abuse. She and her parents and siblings were trapped in a life inside of a cult - the Feeneyites.

Chadwick expertly captures the ambiguity of her captivity - yes, it is terrible but it is her life and she loves the other children and internees. When she was asked to leave because she had not embraced the life of a postulant, she found the prospect of freedom terrifying.

An amazing account of survival in hostile, sequestered surroundings. Patricia Walsh Chadwick survives. I am so glad she told her story...



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