 She wanted to become a nun.  She entered a monastery.  She met a priest.  They went to Italy  The priest became a daddy and then he died. “The extraordinary beauty of her writing made me wish this book would never end.”— Ann Patchett, Bel Canto
"Breathtakingly passionate, painful and exhilarating." -Sandra Scofield, Occasions of Sin "One of the most beautiful books I've ever read"-Sheri Reynolds, Rapture of Canaan |
The Scent of God: A MemoirPublished by Counterpoint , The Perseus Books Group Hardcover April 2006 / $24.00/ ISBN: 1-58243-348-8 Paperback April 2007 /$15.00 /ISBN: 1-58243-361-5 STORY In an era when sex abuse scandals riddle the Catholic Church, this haunting memoir of love, guilt, and redemption, illumines the goodness to be found among the majority of those who have followed Christ into the ministry. Beryl enters a cloistered community one day after her eighteenth birthday believing that God has called her. She wants to become a saint. When her father has a severe stroke, her abbess tells her that it is God’s Will she return home to care for her father thereby setting in motion a course of events that will turn her life inside out. Padre Vittorio and Beryl did not fall easily into love. Theirs is a story fraught with contradiction and anguish, a struggle to remain faithful to their religious calling while recognizing that their love was God’s gift. The Scent of God probes deeply into the beliefs that led Bissell to seek religious life and limns the events that eventually sent her back into the world. In clear yet lyric language, Bissell weaves a searing yet courageously honest saga of the tension between human love and religious dogma. Her journey is a must-read for all those who seek to make sense of their lives, who struggle with the impact that their choices have had on those they love, and who long to find the healing that lies beneath the surface of these experiences. The Scent of God is Bissell’s first book. She lives on the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota with her husband Bill, their dog Shelby and fat cat Ellie. Bissell received a MN State Arts Board Grant in 2000, and a Loft Creative Nonfiction Award in 1997, both of which provided assistance during the writing of this book. REVIEWERS SAY "The apparent schism between the life of the spirit and that of the mind presented her with some extremely difficult decisions, and working through them clearly gave her a unique and beautiful perspective, one that served her well when cancer struck in her family. Bissell seems to find inner joy even during life's most difficult trials, and she writes about spiritual matters with a marvelous clarity of vision." -- The Washington Post "A deeply moving tale of a woman torn between her love for God and her love for one of his emissaries." -- Publishers Weekly “It is rare to read a memoir that isn't at least occasionally self-aggrandizing and narcissistic, but this one is never so. Instead, Bissell's humility and blatant honesty are refreshing, invigorating, and inspirational. Recommended for all libraries.” -Library Journal "THE SCENT OF GOD is an ode to passion both spiritual and sensual. Meticulously researched and skillfully written, it is the story of a woman who twice gave up everything for love — first for God, then for a man.” -- The Minneapolis Star Tribune “Vivid detail and skillful dialogue . . . The strength of Ms. Bissell’s memoir lies in the unflinching examination of her motives for entering and leaving religious life… A compelling and soulful read.” --National Catholic Reporter "This is a powerful piece of writing, a profound and honest meditation on love -- for family, between men and women and between us and God." --The Tablet “Bissell writes lyrically and frankly.” --St. Paul Pioneer Press “The Scent of God: A Memoir is not a nun-gone-wrong story, it’s about a young woman coming of age and coming to terms with herself and her family. . . a sweet awakening to herself in colorful and sensuous Puerto Rico where she reaches out to embrace life." --Cook County News Herald "Accounts of genuine spiritual anguish and unspeakable loss." --Kirkus “Though Catholic school survivors will find this book especially fascinating, everyone can identify with the uncertainties Bissell faces -- the ones that make us all human, whatever our order in life.” --Bust "Bissell writes cleanly and precisely, and she depicts her early life as a Poor Clare in a cloistered convent with authenticity and conviction. ...A beautiful book. --Cook County Star |
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