What a wonderful book this is!! A great gift and I now follow their hashtag #medianuns. At first I thought I would never be able to live up to what they wrote on but as I read I realized they simply are encouraging each of us to remember we are spiritual beings in an oh so human body and to keep trying.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tiller Press for the digital galley of this book.

It seems as if the Church as an institution is getting older and ultimately, dying out, but the young sisters in the order of Saint Paul are using social media to share their experiences and show the world that there are indeed, younger nuns. The book is a hopeful message that younger folks will turn to their faith in a changing and scary world.

As someone who recently found herself getting back into church as well (though a much more liberal denomination of Protestantism), it was comforting to see the journeys of other young women who had taken a vows for their faith. Occasionally in my life, I’ve considered religious order life, but I’m not Catholic, and it’s the message of progressive Christians that calls me to study, not doctrine or rituals.

I really enjoyed reading the stories of these young women, and I applaud their attempts to bring the church into the modern age and, in some cases, the more modern age into the church so that they may inspire and encourage young people to, once again, turn to the church in times of struggle and joy.

I didn't know the synopsis of this book when I requested early access from Netgalley. I was very surprised when I began reading and figured out that it is a compilation of personal stories and their road to Daughters of St. Paul. First, all these ladies are born in the 1980s, so I understood all their cultural references and really enjoyed reading about their lives.
Father Alberione, born in the 1880s, had the vision to use media communication to spread the gospel, and at the turn of the century media was just beginning! This book has chapters written by each religious sister (the difference between a religious sister and a religious nun is explained in the foreword.) They all have diverse backgrounds, yet there are a lot of similarities in their personal narratives. They all write about love, obedience, faith, identity, relationship, and prayer and how those shaped their lives. They also all write about how twists and turns of life brought them to make decisions to become a part of Daughters of St. Paul. Sister Amanda writes about the language of poverty, obedience, and love. Sister Tracey writes about receiving what's given and accepting God's peace. She describes prayer as the love language with God. "The world changes with our example, not our opinion." Sister Danielle writes "A beautiful life calls us to live more authentically" Sister Jacqueline defines Four Elements as faith, identity, relationships, and commitment. I really enjoyed seeing their authentic selves and it really accentuates discernment and letting other people (and God/prayer/faith) help guide you in your life's journey.

3.5 stars.

While I'm not Catholic myself, I found this book really insightful and practical, full of examples on how to pursue Christ and share one's faith via media.

Sometimes I wish that the religious life were more of a "thing" in Protestant circles in addition to Catholic/Anglican! Especially being single myself, way past an age range where I thought life would look much different than it does ... I find myself wondering and contemplating how to live a life fully devoted to Christ. How would it really look to be single like Paul (or even the ultimate, Christ himself!) and fully dedicate myself to Christ? What does it really mean to "work out my salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12) or be "anxious about the affairs of the Lord" (1 Cor. 7) as a single? This book provides a great kick-starter for that, to get the creative juices flowing. I loved the varying examples, and how it effectively illustrated that we are all members of the body and have different skill sets/roles/giftings.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I greatly enjoyed this book. As a millennial who considered religious life in my early 20s, I know how difficult it can be to sort out a vocation. It's especially difficult as life these days seems so much more complicated, fast-paced, and unpredictable than it was for our grandparents.
This book explores the stories of many women from diverse backgrounds who were all called to religious life with a common purpose. I appreciated seeing the ways in which seemingly unrelated paths all led to the same place and the ways in which the call to sisterhood was often the last thing these women expected to hear.
I think this book can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in religion and why people make the choices that they do. It shatters the traditional image of religious sisters or nuns as strict and unwavering in their faith and shows that it's often those with the most doubt and those who are the most lost that choose religious life. Once when I was trying a little too hard to be perfect, I remember a Cistercian vocations director telling me that "strong and faithful people who find it easy to resist temptation don't need to join convents. Religious orders are for those who struggle the most."

The Millennial Nuns are all young women who are consecrated religious of the Catholic order the Daughters of Saint Paul. They engage in a faith-filled life in the era of social media with the collective term the #MediaNuns.
In this book, eight Millennial Nuns share their discernment journeys, struggles and crises of faith, plus episodes of their daily lives. It’s an interesting look at how each woman was called to service and how she serves today.
In addition to each nun’s story, the women offer practical takeaways and tips for living a more spiritually fulfilled life. In places, the advice sounds preachy, but I mostly appreciated the encouragement.
As I read this book, I felt a spiritual connection to each woman. Their stories make me want to visit every one!

These aren’t the nuns your parents complain about from their Catholic school days… these ladies are young and on Instagram.

Even though I grew up Catholic – and around nuns – I hadn’t heard of the Daughters of St. Paul before. Having been a media/broadcasting major back in my school days, I can’t help but be attracted to their mission.

From the intro: “The Daughters of St. Paul reflect deeply on how people interact with the media and are formed by it.”

After an introduction, the following chapters of the book are each written by a different member of the order. Almost all of them tell the story of how they came to learn about the Daughters of St. Paul, discerned their calling to be a nun, and maybe what they do within the order now.

I read a lot of memoirs, and love a good personal story. But, after a few chapters, I felt like the format started getting repetitive. Obviously these women have different backgrounds and details to their stories, but most came to discover their longing to be a nun around college age. Many of them confirmed their belief in this calling by visiting the order’s Mother House in Boston.

But about halfway through the book – right when I started feeling the repetitiveness – we meet a nun who is in charge of helping curious young women with this act of discernment. So now, we can see the process from the other side. It was exactly the change of pace that was needed at that point.

I would also say that one of the most compelling personal stories comes in the back half of the book – so it is worth moving through the slight repetitiveness.

There are a lot of good thoughts and quotes in here, many of which are about faith. But there are also inspiring thoughts on finding and pursuing one’s calling in life, which could appeal to people of any (or no) faiths.

This is a fun and uplifting read. I have even looked up a few of the contributors on Instagram – and from there I learned that they also have a podcast!

While the number of Roman Catholic priests and nuns has been declining worldwide and in the United States for decades, there has been a small bump in the number of Millennials answering the call. Millennial Nuns: Reflections on Living a Spiritual Life in a World of Social Media offers the stories of eight Millennial women who joined the Daughters of Saint Paul, a Roman Catholic international religious congregation. Unlike nuns of past generations whose existence was often marked by isolation, these women (#MediaNuns) have embraced social media to evangelize, including Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Each woman’s personal story is unique: some came from dysfunctional backgrounds, some were disenchanted with the pressures of the secular world, some wanted the strong guidance of a religious life, but all share a deep faith and love of Christ, to a degree that many readers may find difficult to understand: relationship to Jesus is sometimes described in romantic terms. However, the reader will also discern that each of these women is at peace with her decision and wishes to spread the fruits of that peace and fulfillment to others.
Verdict: A glimpse into lives that most of us will never know but which social media is making less of a mystery.

An interesting take on younger generations taking up the veil and giving their lives in service to God. The stories were short, to the point, and easy to read.

True confessions, I picked this up with a little apprehension, not sure how much I could possibly have in common with a group of nuns, regardless of their age. I may be a Protestant, but I do know that nuns are not all elderly women singing with Julie Andrews's Maria, locked in their stone convents, but I wasn't expecting young [millennial] women who joyfully and exuberantly write about spreading the Good News using all forms of media. Even social media! These women are more properly called "sisters," and their stories of a call to serve God are inspiring, transparent, and real. I appreciated their diverse backgrounds and their honesty in sharing that no, they didn't grow up intending to live the religious life. There were doubts and fears that were overcome by love and camaraderie, and now they live and thrive in the freedom to express their creative gifts and share with others.
Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.
Highly recommended

I just love it. I've wondered how nuns and the more devout are dealing with the changes of social media and refraining from temptation. I am not Catholic but was raised with a stricter Christian upbringing and was "half Catholic" when I was with my grandparents. However, it was very open to other beliefs and presented things in a way that would make it a quick read for anyone, not just those who had strict Christian beliefs.

What an interesting peek into the life of modern nuns!

As a Catholic, I have a great respect for the institution nuns represent. That being said, I understand the flaws of the institution. It was interesting to the gain insight into what inspires people to pursue this path today, I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

I’m not Catholic, but this is really good. A collection of essays by 8 religious sisters, reflecting on their callings, how they discerned their vocations, what it’s like to serve & to love, & how they met Jesus & his love. This book moved me & spoke to my heart.

[What I liked:]

•Very well written. Spiritual writing can often be dry, boring, or unengaging, & this book is the opposite. The essays are personal, yet resonated with my own life experiences & my spiritual life: longing for God but feeling distant from him; wanting clarity for the future, but being called to take steps of faith; learning how to live authentically; finding peace & life through prayer; developing a relationship with Jesus where you listen to his voice.

•The book isn’t written only to Catholics, & concepts non-Catholics may not be aware of are explained. As a non-Catholic, I appreciate that the writers didn’t just assume their audience was in-group.

•There is just so much love in this book. It’s interesting to read, has info about discerning a religious vocation, but also offers lots of encouragement & meaning for any life path. But mostly, I just felt a lot of Christ’s love while reading this book.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•I guess I just wish it was longer?


[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

Generally, any book that chronicles the intersection of women and spirituality is rather interesting for me. Not only was the title catchy, but it piqued my interest. How can one not want to discover the ambitions, motivations and philosophies of modern day sisters (not nuns as the title suggests).

The end result was a mixed bag, like any book with several voices, there is either an opportunity to connect or not. All writers were competent, yet I feel some missed the prime reason I picked up the book. I want to know how this social media age effects you.. in what ways do you still remain consecrated even while engaging in our global communication system?

The audience of this book feels like it is written for those who might be considering a religious life, not to the general audience who is genuinely curious. Overall great writing, but I feel it could have tackled tougher topics as well as laying out their biographies.

The Daughters of Saint Paul are collectively known as the #MediaNuns, a consecrated religious order of Catholic Sisters who simultaneously observe their committed vows while embracing social media with active utilization of platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to evangelize.

Let's be honest. What do you think of when you hear the word Sister?

You are likely a lot like me. You think of older women. You might think of rulers. You may even think of those wonderfully retro black and white habits. If you're the right age (or the wrong age depending on your views), you might even think of Gidget. Or Whoopi.

You're not likely to think about younger women. You're not likely to think about friends, artists, writers, businesswomen, advocates, and scholars.

Yet, this is exactly what you find in "Millennial Nuns: Reflections on Living a Spiritual Life in a World of Social Media," a light yet fulfilling memoir entering the lives of eight of The Daughters of Saint Paul's younger Sisters as they share their own discernment journeys, struggles and crises of faith to be overcome, and glimpses into their daily lives.

The Sisters in "Millennial Nuns" seem surprisingly approachable, reverent yet honest in their testimonies and willing to share with transparency and vulnerability. They offer practical takeaways from their own journeys along with tips for living a more spiritually fulfilled life no matter your religious affiliation.

Balancing faith and the often frenzied nature of everyday life in this modern age can be difficult, but "Millennial Nuns" gives us an inside view of how this is accomplished by The Daughters of Saint Paul and I'd dare say it also offers a glimpse into how religious communities can and are adapting for changing times and inviting those with a sense of deep spiritual call into the consecrated life when the consecrated life seems so at odds with the world these days.

Even as an older, non-Catholic male myself (though I have attended quite a few Masses), I took much away "Millennial Nuns" and thoroughly enjoyed my reading of it. I easily imagined myself having these very conversations with these Sisters as they discuss discernment, spiritual discipline, the differences between religious orders, and the joy they find in devoting their lives in marriage to Jesus Christ.

As is likely always true with a collective memoir, there will be some testimonies that resonate more than others depending upon one's own life and experiences. However, collectively "Millennial Nuns" is a refreshing and engaging journey into the lives of eight women who made their vows earlier in life and whose lives feel all the richer and more meaningful for it.

"Millennial Nuns" is a unique yet wonderful read for the spiritually inclined of any path who wish to more deeply explore and understand how to better live a spiritual life while remaining engaged with the modern world.