Colette Livermore

"Hope Endures" is about one woman's spiritual journey through 11 years as a Missionary of Charity (MC), her decision to break her vows, and eventual pursuit of a career as a doctor in the Australian outback. This is one of the most compelling, honest, and beautiful accounts of a struggle for faith I’ve ever read. Livermore joins the MCs at 18, hoping to fulfill her calling to serve “Christ disguised as the poor.” Her faith falters as she questions the MCs’ ideal of absolute obedience to God. There are many poignant passages and verbal illustrations; for example, after Livermore leaves the Mission, she returns to her original worksite and heartbreakingly finds the Church changed nothing in the community except to teach people to play Bingo and cards; on several occasions she tries to respond faithfully to the call of Christ in emergency situations but is reprimanded by her superiors for not sticking to the convent’s schedule. In short, it’s a story of institutionalized, systematic emotional abuse; veneration of victimization; insights into Mother Teresa’s ideology and analyses of her contradictions; and Livermore’s eventual pursuit of truth, courage, compassion, and joy sans Catholicism. Highly recommend.… (mere)