1st Edition
Irish-American Catholic Women Writers vs. the Church Resisting Lives
By Sally Barr Ebest
Copyright 2027
184 Pages
by
Routledge
This compelling study examines how Irish-American Catholic women writers challenged centuries-old Church mandates through their literary works published between 1957 and 2017. The book analyzes novels and memoirs that document these women's systematic rejection of religious expectations for female silence, obedience, social isolation, and intellectual limitation. Instead of conforming to... Read more
Acknowledgments x
Introduction: Writing Autobiographically 1
1 The Autobiography of Survival 12
2 Parents’ Lives: From Immigrant to Irish American 31
3 Daughters’ Lives: The Influence of Feminism 62
4 Sexual Lives: In Person and in Print 91
5 Writing Lives: Agency, Independence,
and Creativity 123
6 Future Lives: Gesturing Toward Change 153
Index 172
Introduction: Writing Autobiographically 1
1 The Autobiography of Survival 12
2 Parents’ Lives: From Immigrant to Irish American 31
3 Daughters’ Lives: The Influence of Feminism 62
4 Sexual Lives: In Person and in Print 91
5 Writing Lives: Agency, Independence,
and Creativity 123
6 Future Lives: Gesturing Toward Change 153
Index 172
Biography
Sally Barr Ebest is Professor Emerita in the English Department at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where she taught for 30 years.
“In her insightful and intuitive new study of contemporary novels and memoirs by Irish-American female writers, Sally Barr Ebest finds that the common denominator in the women’s work is Catholicism. She examines their sometimes pious, often rebellious relationship with the Church and explores its impact on their personal narratives and fiction and how it evolves over time.”
—Linda Dowling Almeida, Glucksman Ireland House, NYU (retired), Author, Irish Immigrants in New York City, 1945–1995
