Karen Kilgariff

Mixed in with that and some textbook childhood trauma, you know, alcoholic parents, divorce, severe parental mental illness. The kind that gets you lots of points on the ACE scale and many healing years in therapy. Hi. Welcome. Hi. I ended up getting really involved in my charismatic new high school youth group. I could have done a lot of other things as a teenager to act out.

Drugs, alcohol, boys. No, I chose high control religion. I mean, there's worse things. There is. I mean, but it's funny because on the face you think, well, at least you're being this. At least you're safe or something. Yeah. I got very active in the Catholic faith and a young faith group in the area, and it was all very consuming and in some ways almost cult-like. Okay, so back to the nun part.

Drugs, alcohol, boys. No, I chose high control religion. I mean, there's worse things. There is. I mean, but it's funny because on the face you think, well, at least you're being this. At least you're safe or something. Yeah. I got very active in the Catholic faith and a young faith group in the area, and it was all very consuming and in some ways almost cult-like. Okay, so back to the nun part.

Drugs, alcohol, boys. No, I chose high control religion. I mean, there's worse things. There is. I mean, but it's funny because on the face you think, well, at least you're being this. At least you're safe or something. Yeah. I got very active in the Catholic faith and a young faith group in the area, and it was all very consuming and in some ways almost cult-like. Okay, so back to the nun part.

Usually when I drop that information, I get a ton of questions. Could you have sex? Why did you go? Did you change your name? After years in youth groups and religious settings, I truly believed there was no higher calling than to, quote, live my life for only Jesus. End quote. So I entered the convent at 21 years old. Wow.

Usually when I drop that information, I get a ton of questions. Could you have sex? Why did you go? Did you change your name? After years in youth groups and religious settings, I truly believed there was no higher calling than to, quote, live my life for only Jesus. End quote. So I entered the convent at 21 years old. Wow.

Usually when I drop that information, I get a ton of questions. Could you have sex? Why did you go? Did you change your name? After years in youth groups and religious settings, I truly believed there was no higher calling than to, quote, live my life for only Jesus. End quote. So I entered the convent at 21 years old. Wow.

After about nine months, I decided to leave, which is fairly common in the first couple of years as young women are figuring out if it's truly a good fit. It takes seven to ten years total, depending on the order, to be a fully vowed religious sister in the Catholic Church. About 90% of my days were spent in silence, prayers, and work around the convent.

After about nine months, I decided to leave, which is fairly common in the first couple of years as young women are figuring out if it's truly a good fit. It takes seven to ten years total, depending on the order, to be a fully vowed religious sister in the Catholic Church. About 90% of my days were spent in silence, prayers, and work around the convent.

After about nine months, I decided to leave, which is fairly common in the first couple of years as young women are figuring out if it's truly a good fit. It takes seven to ten years total, depending on the order, to be a fully vowed religious sister in the Catholic Church. About 90% of my days were spent in silence, prayers, and work around the convent.

Meals were eaten in silence, sometimes with a reading, unless it was a special celebration day.

Meals were eaten in silence, sometimes with a reading, unless it was a special celebration day.

Meals were eaten in silence, sometimes with a reading, unless it was a special celebration day.

No way. It's giving me agita just describing Nicole's experience. In the order I entered, it's a teaching order, so all the sisters teach in schools around the country. You keep a really rigid schedule of prayers, reading, and recreation, which is sometimes playing sports like Ultimate Frisbee outside. What?

No way. It's giving me agita just describing Nicole's experience. In the order I entered, it's a teaching order, so all the sisters teach in schools around the country. You keep a really rigid schedule of prayers, reading, and recreation, which is sometimes playing sports like Ultimate Frisbee outside. What?

No way. It's giving me agita just describing Nicole's experience. In the order I entered, it's a teaching order, so all the sisters teach in schools around the country. You keep a really rigid schedule of prayers, reading, and recreation, which is sometimes playing sports like Ultimate Frisbee outside. What?

And you can see right over there, he's playing. Or board games. Overall, there was a lot. See, now I'm back in for the board games. Overall, there was a lot of beauty in the life. As a person who likes alone time, I don't mind not talking to people all day. But I ultimately decided for many obvious reasons that the life wasn't for me.

And you can see right over there, he's playing. Or board games. Overall, there was a lot. See, now I'm back in for the board games. Overall, there was a lot of beauty in the life. As a person who likes alone time, I don't mind not talking to people all day. But I ultimately decided for many obvious reasons that the life wasn't for me.

And you can see right over there, he's playing. Or board games. Overall, there was a lot. See, now I'm back in for the board games. Overall, there was a lot of beauty in the life. As a person who likes alone time, I don't mind not talking to people all day. But I ultimately decided for many obvious reasons that the life wasn't for me.

And years later, decided high control religion wasn't for me either. For more obvious reasons. Thank you, ladies and the whole team, for making a podcast that makes me and so many people feel understood and like they're talking to a friend. You've gotten me through bouts of postpartum, cross-country moves, raising four kids. Wow. And then in parentheses it says, yes, it's a lot of kids.