Ordinary Time CL

The ``uneasy and unrelenting state of religious faith'' which, according to Mairs, has marked the ``whole of my conscious life,'' is explored with elan in this spiritual autobiography that generates sparks about many issues. As a Catholic feminist (an oxymoron, she observes), the author of Plaintext contemplates the thorny relationships she has had with the Church and with her family (at one time in her marriage, both partners were adulterous). She examines the effects of her multiple sclerosis and of her husband's cancer, conditions which contributed to their reconciliation and personal growth. In spirited essays that trace her journey from her Congregationalist childhood to her current individualistic Catholicism, she poses questions about marriage, parenthood and the meaning of suffering that will resonate with many contemporary lives. Her voice is challenging and her thrust at times radical, but Mairs maintains a disarming, self-deprecating wit and unflinching effort to remain true in this charting of the ``terrain of a conscientious life.'' (May)