Book Review: A Woman’s Voice Should Be Heard: My Journey from the Convent to the Battle for Women’s Equality

The book is a must-read reminder of the crucible women have faced in the ongoing battle for equality. Aggie Jordan is a force of nature!

Originally published on Reedsy Discovery. Read the synopsis and more HERE.

Fiercely determined, Aggie Jordan is a force of nature. Her book, A Woman’s Voice Should Be Heard (My Journey from the Convent to the Battle for Women’s Equality) recounts her story of growing up in an Irish Catholic family, devoting 14 years of her life serving as a nun, and later leaving the convent and taking up the cause fighting for women’s rights in all areas of life: health choices for a woman’s right to choose, representation in the workplace, equal financial opportunities for female entrepreneurs, and workplace training to combat gender bias, racism, religious discrimination and prejudice in all forms.

From the beginning, we learn of her nana giving birth to 10 children, and how Aggie’s mother married because of societal pressure and had children out of a sense of duty. Her mother raised seven children, had one stillborn and three miscarriages. When Aggie asked her mother if she believed in abortion, her mother confessed, “If I did, you wouldn’t be here.” Perhaps the most telling of what life was like for women at this time in history was when her Aunt Mary took Aggie out into the cornfields and said, “Honey, I want you to stand here and scream it out… I want you to get it out of your system.”

Aggie felt God’s call to join the convent, and shares, “for the rest of my life, I would have no left or right vision outside these straight horse blinders made of covered plastic.” We learned of the horrid treatment of novices forced to wear chainettes with spokes that caused the skin to bleed as penance and prayers accompanied by self-flagellation with a whip. Aggie later says, “My fundamental belief about humans is that we need more encouragement of our self-worth and less punishment regarding this ancient belief in our sinful nature.”

It was her acceptance into the University of Notre Dame that changed the course of her life forever, leading to her eventual transition from nun to feminist. Along with her advocacy, Aggie Jordan shares practical, if unconventional, methods for finding a soulmate within a year, stories of what it was like marrying a divorced man with four children, and a delightful (yet frustrating) tale of getting a bank loan as a female business owner without her husband co-signing on her behalf, leading a befuddled bank manager to ask, “What kind of marriage do you have?”

This book is a must-read because it reminds us of the women who came before us who had to pave the way for basic freedoms that men have always enjoyed. A Woman’s Voice Should Be Heard also lays out a blueprint for moving forward and effecting change in government policies, in the workplace and in our personal lives. There is still much work to be done. The world needs more women like Aggie Jordan.

Note: I received an Advanced Review Copy on Reedsy Discovery.