Ripening in the Wilderness: The Journey of a Woman/Priest

St. Andrews, who was killed in an automobile accident just as she was completing her manuscript, was one of the first women ordained priest in the Episcopal Church. Having entered into the patriarchal world of theology, St. Andrews went on to establish quite a resume-the first female member of the clergy to pray in both houses of Congress; one of the first clergy of either sex to work with AIDS victims; counselor to a presidential family, the Carters; relief worker in a Cambodian refugee camp. In sharing her life story, St. Andrews shares as well her spiritual journey and her own, developing theology, especially as she tries to conform her feminine gifts and energies to a masculine world. While St. Andrews's experiences, tensions and conflicts are fascinating, they seem a minor theme at times, especially when the author focuses on her intimate relationships with men-two failed marriages (one to an abusive physician, the other to an ex-Jesuit priest); the shoulda beens, the coulda beens, the thank goodness I didn'ts. All of that said, however, this is still an intense, articulate, honest and sometimes funny book that should be helpful to women trying to define a place for themselves within established Christianity. (Sept.)