ABOUT Perfection
Abandoning her dreams of becoming an actress or a writer, Maggie Walsh embraces Church teaching, believing the convent is the path to perfection. She sets out to follow that path, no matter how difficult. The challenges of the 1960’s: radical changes in the Church; civil-rights unrest; anti-Vietnam War protests, all seep into the cloister and stir up conflict. A high-school sweetheart, then admiring male colleagues, complicate her resolve to be faithful. Can Maggie and her classmates find fulfillment in God alone?
SYNOPSIS:
Maggie Walsh has entered the convent. Her brother thinks she’s wasting her life. Her sister doubts she has what it takes. Her mother is heartbroken; her father is happy. Her boyfriend pledges to wait until she “gets it out of her system.”
Abandoning her dreams to be an actress or a writer, Maggie embraces Church teaching that says the convent is the path to perfection. She sets out to prove – to herself and her family – that she can do it. She’ll follow her higher calling, no matter what.
It is 1960. Church reform is a few years away, but when it comes, radical changes unfold swiftly. Maggie embraces that change. Her brother, Jack, who tries at every turn to get Maggie to come to her senses, involves her in civil-rights and anti-war activities – forcing her into conflict with her superiors. Should she keep the peace in the convent or follow her conscience?
A charismatic fellow teacher, Will, captures Maggie’s time and attention. Then her first love, Stan, returns home from a Navy tour. Seeking perfection seemed so simple; now, it is anything but. Maggie must choose: A solitary life with God or the exclusive love of another person?