At the heart of the work, Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope (Eerdmans, 2005) is a searing personal tale of a young Sr. Joan Chittister. Having been accepted to one of the country’s most prestigious writing programs, the permission to attend was inexplicably and, without warning, withdrawn by her superior at the last moment.

It was a cruel act without explanation and sent Chittister into a deep consideration of her vocation, of what it means to deal with this kind of unexpected, life-altering disappointment, and what it means, ultimately, to find hope.

In this conversation, she recounts that incident and the lifelong insights that emerged. Change, she says, is a condition of life in the 21 st Century and “real change is that place where struggle starts. … There’s nothing fixed here now. Our theology isn’t fixed, the culture isn’t fixed. The institutions are changing. Our relationships shift all the time, even the family. But if we are raised on absolutes then, then what happens? Is God responsible for these negative absolutes in my life?”

Her answers might surprise. They are drawn from years of dealing with her own and others’ struggles, and from realizing where, in those struggles, are our sources of hope.