Vatican II has just been implemented, the Age of Aquarius is about to dawn and Cassie Crawford is struggling to catch up with the world around her, grow comfortable in her own skin and avoid an eternity in hell. ’Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow, ’ a novel in thirteen linked and separate stories is a depiction of 1960s-1970s suburban America, seen through the eyes of a developing young girl, narrated by the adult looking back. Sexuality, clergy abuse, puberty, repression, morality, mortality and other themes are explored through the events and everyday lives of the people of Cloverdale.