Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession

Like Anne Rice, I've returned to the Roman Catholic Church after many years away. I found this book inspirational. The detailed account of her childhood helped me understand the place of the church in her young life and clarified not only her relationships with her parents but also how the young Anne Rice saw even the smallest things, including the wind's movement of leaves on a tree. I found the book honest and revealing in a way that many writers would not or could not be, including in her comments on contemporary issues later in the book that indicate she's come back to the church with a refreshingly open mind. Perhaps only other returnees to the Catholic Church after many years away can fully appreciate Anne Rice's refreshing honesty and detailed portrayal of her spiritual life.

A Soul Awakening Book! When I think of this book, I think of the words of Walt Whitman about himself, "Who touches this book touches a man." In the words of Anne's book, we can truly touch Jesus and be touched by Him in return. Anne's writing moves us into deep levels of mind, heart, and soul. For me, it was as though Anne dipped her pen in gold. Each chapter glowed with the Light of Christ. The book allows the reader to "touch the hem of His garment" as the woman in the Bilble did those many centuries ago and inspires us to follow Him. Reading and contemplating Anne's words were for me the closest I have come to re- experiencing Jesus Christ as I experienced Him many years ago. The depth and sincerity of her faith showed me the truth in T. S. Eliot's words, "All of life is a journey, back to the place where we started and knowing it for the first time." Anne's book gives me real hope for the spiritual journey. Having left the Church many years ago, Anne's recollections of her early life in the Church were beautifully familiar to me and beautifully written. Each detail is precious to those of us who similarly experienced the Catholic faith in our early years; but who may have, as I did, taken a detour into other paths, ideologies, philosophies, or New Age offerings which always left me empty. Anne's word reminded me of the truism of St. Teresa of Avila's words, "Only God is sufficient." Anne gives us not simply words on a page but an experience of Christ. There is much that enlightens the mind; but even more valuable is that Anne's sharing of the Light in which she lives awakens our hearts. The book is soul awakening! She is a channel for the Light of Jesus on our "dark nights of the soul." Emily Dickinson said, "Not knowing when the Dawn will come, I open every Door." Anne's books is surely a "Door" and a blessing to all of us who have gone far afield in search of other paths when what we most want is the Peace and Love which Christ offers freely to all of us. As a Christian writer, Anne's book is as powerful to me, or more so, than Tolstoy's "My Confesson," a book I loved but which did not give me the entry into my own Soul which Anne's book provided. In her book, there is a line about her early life, "I knew something now that I could not put into words". It is a blessing that Anne has now put into words her love of Christ and her commitment to her faith. I am now reading her first book on Christ, "Out of Egypt" and I look forward to reading "Out of Cana." "Out of Egypt" is helping me know the Lord in a way that is moving my heart closer to His presence. From Anne's book, I also learned that we do not have to stay lost in our all our questions. We find in her extensive research the reality of the historical Jesus. Her truly scholarly research has silenced for me all the pseudo- scholarly works which tell us Jesus did not exist. From His living in Anne's heart, I believe He shares His Life and L

With CALLED OUT OF DARKNESS, Anne Rice gives readers the very first autobiographical look at herself. In doing so, we discover how little was actually known about the woman who gave us such gothic horror classics as INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE and THE VAMPIRE LESTAT. Conversely, her last two books have been fictionalized portrayals of Jesus Christ as a boy and young adult --- themes that presented quite a paradox for those who identify Rice as being strictly a writer of dark fantasy novels. This memoir answers all these questions and sheds light on how closely her novels have represented her personal feelings and struggles over many years. CALLED OUT OF DARKNESS opens with the quote "This book is about Faith in God." Rice goes on to present her story, beginning with her childhood, after indicating that she had lost her faith for many years and reclaimed it again at age 57. Born with the unfortunate name of Howard Allen --- she changed it to Anne at an early age --- she lived with her family in a very Catholic section of New Orleans. Her upbringing was extremely Catholic and exclusionary of anything outside this teaching. She was in awe of Catholic churches and held those in authority in the highest regard without questioning anything she was taught or told. The Catholic world Rice knew was one where priests were esteemed and respected with never any word of scandal surrounding them. During her youth, it was a time when the Catholic Church was deeply respected in America; as she puts it, the Catholic Church was "a cultural force." Living in the Deep South, she recognized that the people in her community were vigorously racist, even though her parents were not. They all accepted segregation as something that had to exist. Because of the moral blinders she had put upon herself, Rice was unable to know anything other than this world. Though not a terribly good student or reader, Rice did take to writing at an early age and claims her first writing teachers to be Charles Dickens and Charlotte Bronte. She questioned, privately, why certain books were banned by the Catholic Church. As she became older and more curious, she sought out such forbidden tomes as Nabokov's LOLITA and the works of Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre. Living in a family that did not believe in television and limited their radio listening to certain programs, Rice took private refuge in a local film art house that presented cinematic classics by directors Francois Truffaut, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni and Luis Bunuel. A young Rice was discovering the world outside of the Catholic bubble in which she lived. Rice's mother died of complications due to alcoholism, and her father shortly thereafter remarried and moved the family to Dallas. She was not only overcome by the culture shock of moving into a non-Catholic community but also faced with the fact that her stepmother was a Baptist. After high school, she started college at Texas Woman's University

I have just finished Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession by Anne Rice and I found it to be a quite powerful conversion to Christ beautifully written. As someone who was a fan of so many of her books and was quite pleased with her two books on Jesus I was looking forward to reading this book. A large section of the book starts with her experiences growing up Catholic in New Orleans where the local culture was decidedly Catholic and centered around parish life. She writes about her fascination with the church as a child and her interest in architecture, statues, stained glass windows, and all that made up most Catholic churches of that period. It reminded me of what Pope Benedict said about biblia pauperum . "The bible of the poor",comprised of non-literary works, such as icons, images, hymns, windows, etc. Before she could read she was able to learn about the Church and the lives of the saints to some extent. This interest in sacred architecture and statues was also something she was interested with throughout her life, ever her 38 years as an atheist. It was also something that was a possible anchor that later helped her back into the Church, though certainly not the deciding one. I have read many conversions stories of how these images and the sacramental nature of the Church later had an effect on bringing people back to the Church. She speaks of this time with much love about growing up in this time period where pretty much every person she came in contact with was Catholic. She gives her reflections on the traditional Mass and the Latin hymns she learned to love and gives us an insight into this particular time and place of Catholics in America and her desires at one time to become a nun. Though all is not idyllic as she enters school which she hates, though she does not hate the nuns who taught her and holds them in very high esteem. Ironically it was reading that made school the most difficult for her and it would take her quite a while to really become a reader. She really pours herself in her writing as she describes her experiences and her family and the good and the bad situations that occurred within her family. Two of her aunts were nuns and her father had gone to seminary and so the Catholic view of life permeated most of her childhood. The Catholic schools she went to were quite good, but like man schools of the time a real introduction to scripture was lacking with much memorization of the Baltimore Catechism. While this type of memorization is a great first step it must be followed up with a greater understanding of theology, scripture and Church teaching. I must say though that I was quite surprised by what her real first name is and can easily understand why she told the nuns her name was Anne and got her sisters to call her that also. Regardless of the Catholic culture she grew up with, like so many when she left to go to college it was not long until she no longer practiced her faith and then moved onto atheism.

After having read Anne Rice's "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt" and "Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana" TWICE, I was, needless to say, first in line October 7th to pick up her new memoir,"Called Out of Darkness: a spiritual confession." I was not disappointed -- and am now anticipating a second read. As a professional writer for more than 30 years, and an avid reader since childhood, it is rare that I take the time to reread novels or non-fiction books. Reading and research have always been one of my most treasured activities -- and I do not make my choices lightly. Brought up as a Lutheran, I, too, separated from the church during college -- primarily when I discovered that the minister I had grown up with, who taught me the Catechism, performed my confirmation and presented me with my first communion -- had been sexually abusing both young girls and boys in my own confirmation class and had continued to do so for years. When the abuse was discovered in my freshman year, the church simply sent him (and his wife and three children) on to another church in another state. I was appalled! Although my parents tried to explain to me that the pastor was only human and that it should not affect my faith in Christ -- I literally "threw the baby out with the bath water." But I was also quite miserable -- I had lost something very precious and felt myself floundering, trying to figure out what, if anything, I had to hold on to. I spent many years trying to find answers in many places. Finally, I decided that I did believe -- but could never find a church I could adhere to. And the doubts persisted. Now in my mid-fifties, I have spent the last few years fascinated with the life of Christ -- and my library reflects that fact. In May, 2005, I had what I would call a "spiritual awakening" (when words in the gospels suddenly jumped out at me and produced a significant transformation within me) and since then have been avidly pursuing the subject. I must say that none of the many books I have read about Christ (both fiction and non-fiction) have captured me, mesmerized me, inspired me . . . as much as Anne Rice's portrayal of the young seven-year-old Jesus in the first of the series, and that of the 30-year-old Yeshua in the second. I actually remember closing my eyes after finishing "The Road to Cana," and praying that Anne Rice would write quickly so that I might live to read the last of the series! (No pressure there, Anne!) That is how entranced I was. Now, in reading her memoir, so many pieces have fallen into place for me. This is the woman I wanted to get to know, to understand. I wanted to follow in her footsteps as she sought, suffered, questioned . . . to reach the point where she could portray and bring to life (in first person -- an incredible feat) both the Son of God and the Son of Man. 5 stars for all three books mentioned -- for Anne's courage, authenticity, the willingness to address tough issues of this time, her impeccable r