Local Author Explores Life Beyond the Convent as a Gay Catholic

When Alice J. Miesnik left the convent after fourteen years, she found herself bereft at first. A decade of healing, therapy, and newfound friendships help her discover the identity that had eluded her all along. Teaching at Marist High School in Bayonne and joining St. Joseph’s Parish in Maplewood helped her build a new foundation. The memoir recounts how she remained Catholic while becoming comfortable in her own skin.

A reviewer notes: “Alice’s ‘another way’ is devoid of judgement of others, respectful of human growth over time . . . It’s nostalgic, without regret, and it’s a tacit invitation to any reader to take a look at their upbringing, religious experiences, relationships, and career paths in a way that includes the possibility of delight. That is a radical way to be Catholic today.”

Alice J. Miesnik is a retired educator and an active volunteer at St. Joseph’s Parish. She is also deeply involved in the work of the Marists of Champagnat, an organization she encountered throughout her thirty-three years at Marist High School, Bayonne.

Join Alice J. Miesnik, author of Another Way: A Journey of Faith, Love, and Identity at St. Joseph’s Church, 767 Prospect Street on Sunday, October 26 at 3pm for an hour of honest, heart-felt conversation about her recent memoir.

For more information please visit amazon.com/author/ajmiesnik.