Preface The battle for a woman’s right to choose what is good and sacred for her own body is not the only battle going on today. Many women endure unjust treatment in their jobs and careers. The “Me Too” movement has demonstrated how men of power have gotten away with sexual and physical abuse. But I am hopeful that women will continue to fight. They want their voices to be heard and their echoes to resound down through the centuries. This takes leadership, a willingness to support your sisters, and a focused attention on what is happening to young girls. This book, A Woman’s Voice Should Be Heard: My Journey from the Convent to the Battle for Women’s Equality, is definitely a story of a female protagonist. It examines my experiences as an Irish Catholic girl. I grew up in a small town, West Pittston, Pennsylvania, with an uncle who was a priest and a grandmother, mother, and aunt with their strong influence (plus all their biases) on who I became – a Catholic nun for 14 years. The 12 years of Catholic schooling undoubtedly contributed to that decision, and those background stories shine light on why a young girl joins the convent. But why did she stay and then leave? Other stories describe what the novitiate training of a girl of 17 was like. I describe my eight years of teaching and the challenges I faced living in a convent with 15 other very human females whose passions ran the gamut of society. My love of the students combined with my joy in teaching, and my understanding that I received a calling from God to serve him, allowed me to be happy in a very enclosed structure, a cocoon. And then metamorphosis – an assignment to study at the University of Notre Dame for a master’s degree. The pupal stage came to its end. The environment of Notre Dame in the late 1960s, like so many American universities, was ripe for change. Living in a dorm with brilliant women, all recognizing what was happening with the women’s movement, gave me the courage to question my lack of friends in my community; my vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; and the basic tenets of what I believed was God’s new call.