cover image LEADINGS: A Catholic's Journey Through Quakerism

LEADINGS: A Catholic's Journey Through Quakerism

Irene Lape, . . Brazos, $13.99 (160pp) ISBN 978-1-58743-054-1

This odd little memoir could be called "What I Like about Quakers—and, By the Way, Why I Left." Born to Marxists who divorced before she was two, raised by Catholic grandparents, catechized by Episcopalians at an aunt's parish, Lape entered the Roman Catholic Church in 1964 after her freshman year of college. A year later she lapsed into doubt and political activism, steering clear of organized religion for over a decade. Then began an attraction to Quakerism (aka the Society of Friends) that would last another decade, ending with a return to the Catholic Church for Quaker reasons. "I went back because I believed God wanted me to go back, and as a Friend I would have proved unfaithful had I failed to obey his voice." Two-thirds of Lape's book concerns her Quaker period, from initial attraction through "convincement" to eventual disappointment. Her mostly cerebral account, laced with quotations from Quaker literature, includes discussions of Quaker history and theology, customs past and present, and contemporary branches ranging from evangelical to non-theistic. For a spiritual journey book, the story is curiously impersonal. Lape writes about life-changing events as if she is describing someone she doesn't know very well. Except for her grandparents, "Dumps" and "Nini," she names none of the significant people in her life, not even her husbands and children, and she relates gut-wrenching episodes such as her son's kidnapping calmly, as from a distance. Ultimately, the reader learns a good deal about Quakers but little about Lape. (Jan.)