Jane Christmas takes a decidedly unconventional journey to find out whether she is, as she puts it, “nun material”. This is no carefree adventure. The call toward a religious vocation has beckoned Jane since she was a teenager, and now in her fifties she decides to explore it in earnest.

“courageous, fun, bright light”

Meanwhile, her long-term partner Colin, previously disinterested in marriage, springs a surprise marriage proposal on her unaware of what she is about to tell him. Jane, however, decides not to allow her monastic dreams to be interrupted. She sets off on an extraordinary and intense year-plus journey that takes her to four religious communities—one in Canada and three in the UK—and in the course of her immersion provides a seldom-seen glimpse inside modern cloistered life. The book lacks none of the bursts of candor or unrestrained humor that have made her books so popular and relatable (this one is sure to ruffle a few starched clerical collars), but And Then There Were Nuns comes with a darker side as the author comes to terms with a traumatic event from her past.

Shortlisted (2014); Stephen Leacock Medal For Humour