Confessions of an Ex-Feminist

By Lorraine V. Murray

Confessions is the honest and heart-rending account of a woman who was born into a Catholic family, attended parochial schools and fully embraced the beliefs of her faith, but ran into major roadblocks in college. Amidst the radical feminist college environment of the 1960's, she lost her faith, and her morality, jumping aboard the bandwagon of "free love." She indulged in a series of love relationships in college, all of which crashed and burned. Despite the obvious contradiction between feminist teachings and her own experience, Murray still believed she had to free herself from the yoke of tradition.

Attaining a doctorate in philosophy, with an emphasis on the feminist writings of Simone de Beauvoir, Murray taught philosophy in college. For many years, she launched a personal vendetta against God and the Catholic Church in the classroom, trying to persuade students that God did not exist, mocking values Catholics hold dear, and touted feminism as the cure for many social ills. When she discovered she was pregnant, Murray followed the route that feminists offer as a solution for unmarried women. Much to her surprise, her abortion was a shattering emotional experience, which she grieved over for years. It was the first tragic chink in her feminist armor.

After her marriage in 1982, she anguished over the decision to have children, but became an advocate of the "child-free" movement, believing children were burdens and life could be happy life without them. Later in her forties, Murray experienced a mysterious series of events in which it seemed that "someone" was inviting her back to God. The mysterious calls came from different ports, including nature, books and other people. Gradually, she realized that the One seeking her was Christ, and the place He was calling her to was the Catholic Church. Eventually realizing it was only in the Church that she would find what she was seeking ? the person of Christ and his love and mercy ? Murray returned to the Church, and finally found healing and forgiveness for the abortion.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586172255
• ISBN13: 9781586172251
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Ignatius Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Payback time for Feminism

In a great little book, Lorraine Murray describes another life ruined by the morally corrupt effects of a Feminism based on pseudo, best-of-both-worlds equality. It's hard to believe now, but there was a time when Feminism convinced women that they had a right to share the best jobs in the world but not the worst. To be angry that women earn 82% of what men earn, but to expect men not to be angry that 96% of those killed at work are men. To suggest that it's unfair that the day women earn as much as men do, as many of them must die on the nation's building sites and coal mines as men. Thankfully, this gender fascism is becoming a thing of the past, and now so many ex-feminists are coming out of the woodwork with shattered lives, we must consider what feminism and these ex-feminists can do to repay society for the incredible damage they've caused. Feminism's four decades of spreading hatred, bigotry, intolerance and misandry will not be forgotten, and they owe a great debt to society. Although this author writes with grace, I'm amazed that years of training in victimology makes so many act as if THEY were victims of feminism! The reality is they were victims of their own arrogance, ignorance and misandry, and while we should lend an ear when some see the error of their ways, we certainly should think hard before deciding what form of restitution these individuals owe to the society they helped destroy.

Excellent telling of a life story!

This book is a very well-written account of one woman's journey through life. I think many people can relate to her story of rejecting the traditional faith and morals of their childhood, only to realize years later that time-tested values have a purpose and wisdom greater than our own short life experience. The author is not afraid to reveal potentially embarassing inner thoughts and outer actions, which adds to the sincerity of her story. Her explanation of her struggle with her decision regarding childbearing is particularly honest and painful. This book shows how a relatively ordinary life can become an extraordinary story.

A must for mothers and daughters

Great book! Frank look at what so many of us have experienced (or will experience). I highly recommend this book for mothers and daughters to read and discuss together. I promise it will generate dialog!

Ugly Truths and Beautiful Discoveries

Feminism isn't just for women, and is wasn't confined to the 60's either: I graduated from college in 1998 with Feminist thinking, and a handful of other ideologies, ready to take on the world. If Murray's book had been included in my education, it might not have taken me a decade to see an ugly but well-hidden truth about Feminism: Feminists only defend your freedom if you use it to choose Feminist ideals! To be a woman--or, I can say from experience, a man--who allows any place at all for any "traditional" role for women is to be a traitor to the cause and an instant outcast (and we could say the same for Marxism, Gender Studies, and a host of other 'liberated' ways of thinking). But shouldn't a 'feminist' be free to choose what is best for her, not what's best for 'the cause'? Murray addresses this and similar questions with a refreshing frankness and no small amount of humbling self-examination. Poignant without being sappy, and funny in parts without trying too hard, I found the book a straightforward, easy read, but one that still has some hidden gems along the way. There is something here for you whether you're new to Feminist thought, firmly devoted to the cause, or, like Murray and me, have spent your time there and have come around to see its flaws and choose another path for yourself. Ultimately, this is the story of a Catholic girl becoming a woman who rejects her faith and culture, only to find the 'liberation' she was promised to leave more empty space than fulfillment. For Murray, the answer to real self-awareness and completeness lies in the selflessness and grace found in the Catholic Faith, but one needn't be a Catholic to appreciate Murray's discovery or learn from her experiences. Who is this for? Catholics and Feminists, lapsed Catholics and lapsed Feminists, and people who know or care nothing about either one but will appreciate a fresh and personal examination of what life, freedom, and self-awareness are really about. If I had a teenager--daughter or son--they wouldn't leave for college without a copy in their hand. What they would do with it, of course, is their liberty to decide.

Journey Home

I thank Lorraine for sharing her journey. I believe there are many other women that can experience healing through this testimony. So much has been lost over the last three decades.