Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin: A Memoir

In this captivating memoir, poet and essayist Hardy recounts her efforts to reconcile the tenets of her Mormon upbringing with her evolving personal identity. She decides to leave the church at age 35, having long questioned the rules it prescribes for women. Taking stock of her life in her mid-20s, Hardy writes, “All six of my best college friends are married. My brother is married. Every Mormon girl in my high school class, and probably two or three below me, is married.” As she wrestles with her sexuality, religious choices, and the search for a husband, she also travels, takes up salsa dancing, moves to Grand Cayman island, and falls in love with scuba diving. Hardy is ambivalent toward having children—an ambivalence that is nearly unheard of in the church. “I’ve never met an LDS woman who has chosen to be childless, the same way I’ve never met an LDS woman who has chosen not to marry.” Hardy also pursues her love of writing by obtaining an M.F.A. from Bennington. Her memoir is a candid, insightful account of her struggle to find peace with herself. Agent: Susan Golumb, Susan Golumb Literary Agency. (Aug.)