Welcome to Litsy!

Radical Reinvention explores Kaya Oakes return to the Catholic Church after leaving as a teenager. Oakes expresses her frustration with church teachings related to women and LGBTQ issues, but also shows her deep attachment to the cultural and spiritual aspects of the Church. This book is an excellent read for anyone with their own complicated relationship with Catholicism or those seeking to understand why a liberal woman would stay Catholic.

I have found so many things to love in this book. I have been having a hard time finding writing from the perspective of progressive Catholics, so this book has been incredibly refreshing. Unlike Oakes, I never officially left the Church, but I have found myself in small cycles of retreat and return, repelled and attracted by exactly the things she describes.

Sometimes the dogs bark while I try to read, other times they are good company. Tonight has been a bit of both, but this photo makes it all look peaceful, right? 😂 #readingbuddy #shelfie

I want to think this applies to me, but I'm not sure I'm that great of an actress. ?‍♀️ I do think there is something to be said for the way introverts tend to people watch in order to understand how to act in social situations (hopefully that's not just me!) that helps when developing a character. I hate when people respond "But you do theatre!" when I say I'm an introvert. Talking to people and performing for them are two very different things.

I picked up a few books from the library that fall into the "bad Catholic memoir" genre because I miss the liberal Catholicism of my college days in NYC. I'm only 11 pages into this one, but finding it very engaging. This paragraph definitely resonates, though my Irish Catholic ancestors became Iowa farmers rather than settling in a city.

Very enjoyable account of the author's return to the church, especially with life experiences and perspectives that seem decidedly un-Catholic. It was reassuring to see how she found a home in Catholicism without necessarily agreeing with every aspect of the catechism.