The writing here could be described as plain and simple. No excessive use of language, just journal notes written by an un named woman who lives with nuns. Not a nun herself, but someone who went on a retreat and then just ended up staying because everything seemed right and she found her purpose. Everyone has a backstory, and in amongst the descriptions of her monastic life there a little snippets of memory where she recalls her mother and sometimes her schooldays. One of her memories is of a member of her class who was generally despised by all the others even though this girl, Helen Parry, was a troubled child whose mother beat her and sometimes left her alone for weeks. No one ever did anything about it, and even the school turned a blind eye rather than get involved because Helen was always difficult and confrontational. As an adult Helen Parry had also become a nun, but not in the traditional sense where she would be part of an enclosed order and take the v...