New Autobiography Features Recollections & Reflections of a Spirit-Filled Life

Lincoln, NE, August 02, 2007 --(PR.com)-- God’s Brat is part autobiography/part collection of heartfelt, often humorous, and sometimes sobering stories, poetry, and observations from one who has lived a life serving others. Sister Kathryn Leahy, now “eighty-eight years young,” takes readers on a wonderful journey that is a true slice of Americana—from her days as a Nebraska farm kid and her call to be a nun at the age of sixteen, to her work as a teacher and, in her most recent years, as a writer and minister to the elderly.

Though the title, God’s Brat, may seem an unusual choice for Sister Kathryn’s opus, she is quick to point out: “I was a self-willed, stubborn, quick tempered, selfish and proud brat who tried my family’s patience. With God’s help and the goodness of my family and others, I was able to overcome, to an extent, the force of these bad traits, which will be uprooted only at death. God chose me to do His work in spite of my ‘brattiness.’” God’s Brat shows just how she conquered her “ornery” self to become a woman who serves with a grateful heart and a compassionate spirit.

Thirty-five years ago Sister Kathryn discovered a passion for writing, finding that, especially during times of quietude and prayer, words flowed easily from her pen. Here is a poem titled Inspiration, which was written during a stay in Cold Creek Canyon, Colorado, in 1992:

“Strong, sturdy pine, swaying tall in brisk wind,
are you exercising for warmth?
Un-threatened by restless, gloomy clouds above,
your strong healthy branches
flow gracefully from sturdy, enduring trunk.
Your companions of motley sizes and shades of green
sway in unison with you.
Could you be their mentor, inspiration, confidant ...
As you are to me this day?
PLUNK!! Your pine cone lands at my feet ...
a prompt and sacred reply!”

Praise for God’s Brat –
"Since His call when Catherine Elizabeth Leahy was sixteen, ‘God’s brat’ has been touching the lives of exuberant students, incarcerated women, and disabled oldsters... Fortunately for us, her stories of the happy, the sad, the sentimental, and the curious are hereby gathered for our reading pleasure... Relish her shared exuberance, bathed in hope and humor and wonder."
– Catherine Lazers Bauer
Freelance writer, syndicated columnist, and author of One Day on Earth: A Third Eye View

ISBN(s): 143270409-4, 143270502-2 Format(s): 6 x 9 Paperback; 6 x 9 Casebound
SRP: (Paperback) US $24.95/CAN $30.95; (Casebound) US $39.95/CAN $48.95;
Genre: Biography/Literary

Born near Ewing in Northeastern Nebraska, just a few years before the Great Depression, Kathryn Leahy followed the Lord’s call to the Sisters of St. Francis. After two years of novitiate training and three years of normal school training, her first assignment was teaching at St. Agnes Academy in Alliance, Nebraska. Subsequent assignments as teacher, administrator and minister to the elderly took her to Rushville, O’Neill and Grand Island, Nebraska; Denver, Colorado; St. Francis, South Dakota, and Birmingham, Alabama. During those years she earned BA and MA degrees in education. Her two years of theology study in Rome occurred during the time of Vatican II, the death of Pope John XXIII, and the coronation of Pope Paul VI. Though she is officially "retired," she continues her writing and her work of serving others through prayer.

For more information or to contact the author, visit www.outskirtspress.com/godsbrat

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