Being and Becoming

How does one go from being a fervent Catholic to becoming a religious agnostic? This is the story of Walter Keady's odyssey, travailing from a conservative Catholic upbringing in Ireland when 'the whole country was a monastery, ' through his agitating for right-wing religious policies that culminated in his decision to become a priest, through his missionary career in Brazil while Vatican II awakened the Catholic world from slumber, to his loss of religious faith stemming from issues like birth control and celibacy. Keady tells his story with extraordinary honesty, without sparing either himself or the religious milieu that shaped his life. His recounting of battles with sex and celibacy is central and poignant.

Walter Keady was born in County Mayo, Ireland. He grew up on a farm and was employed in the Irish Civil Service before studying for the Catholic priesthood. He completed a degree at University College Dublin and four years study of theology at Holy Ghost Missionary College, Kimmage before being ordained a priest and serving as a missionary in Brazil. When he resigned the priesthood he came to the United States and worked for IBM as a software engineer. He is the author of five published novels and lives in upstate New York with his wife Jennifer.