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Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia by William Brinkley THE DELIVERANCE OF SISTER CECILIA. This story which Sister Cecilia told to William Brinkley ( and there can be little doubt that he has done little to change its character) appeared in shorter form in Life and here is a fuller account of her escape from Communist occupied and oppressed Czechoslovakia. Farm born, Sister Cecilia changed places with her brother and secured a convent schooling with the Ursulines- later joined another and less restrictive convent for the six year probationary period preceding her final vows. For seventeen years she taught kindergerten with a happy dedication to her children as well as her faith, until in 1948 the Communists closed the convent schools, put the nuns to work in fields or factories, and eventually sent Sister Cecilia into the underground. The threat of arrest forced her to exchange her habit for ski pants, and at first refusing to leave her country, she went into hiding- moved out of the city. Still on the wanted list, she was finally persuaded by a priest to leave, and made the last journey across the border with its attendant fear and danger. The courage which is by no means blind, the simplicity which is free of severity, the steady faith-gives her story a special quality. William Brinkley. William Clark "Bill" Brinkley (September 10, 1917 – November 22, 1993) was an American writer and journalist, best known for his 1988 novel, The Last Ship , and his 1956 novel, Don't Go Near the Water , which was later adapted to film in 1957 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as Don't Go Near the Water . The Last Ship is slated for a 2014 television adaptation. [4] Contents. Early life and education [ edit | edit source ] Brinkley was born in Custer City, Oklahoma on September 10, 1917, the son of a minister. The youngest of five children, Brinkley attended the University of Oklahoma and graduated as a Phi Beta Kappa in 1940. [5] Naval service [ edit | edit source ] Brinkley was a commissioned officer in the United States Navy during World War II, where he served in Europe and the Pacific, primarily in public relations duties. [6] Career [ edit | edit source ] After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1940, Brinkley went on to work for The Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Afterwards, Brinkley was a reporter for The Washington Post from 1941 to 1942 and from 1949 to 1951. He was also a staff writer, correspondent and assistant editor and for Life magazine from 1951 to 1958. Brinkley was also a member of the National Press Club until his death in 1993. [7] In 1948, after his tenure as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Brinkley wrote and published his first novel, Quicksand , in 1948. In 1954, Brinkley wrote his only non-fiction book, The Deliverance of Sister Cecelia , a biography of a Slovakian nun based her memoirs as recited to him. The novel was later adapted into an episode of Climax! in 1955. In 1956, he went on to write the best-selling novel and perhaps his most prominent work, Don't Go Near the Water , a comedy about U.S. Navy sailors serving in the South Pacific during World War II. Don't Go Near the Water would later be adapted into film by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as Don't Go Near the Water . Don't Go Near the Water was released in theaters across the United States in 1957 and became both a critical and commercial success. [8] [9] [10] In peacetime Lieutenant Commander Clinton T. Nash had been in charge of a Merill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Beane office in the Midwest. Not long after Pearl Harbor he had been commissioned directly from his brokerage office without the corrupting effect of any intervening naval training. William Brinkley, Don't Go Near the Water , Chapter 1. [11] In 1961, Brinkley wrote and published The Fun House , a comedy novel set in the offices of a picture magazine, similar to that of Life . The following year, in 1962, Brinkley wrote and published the novel, The Two Susans , which was followed in 1966 by The Ninety and Nine , a novel detailing life on board a United States Navy LST operating in the Mediterranean Sea and at Anzio during World War II. [12] In 1971, Brinkley moved to McAllen, Texas and would live there until his death in 1993. Throughout the 1970s, Brinkley only wrote one novel, Breakpoint , a novel about tennis, published in 1978. Brinkley's 1978 novel about tennis, Breakpoint , was followed by Peeper , a comedy novel about a voyeur in the small Texas town of Martha, Texas, near the Rio Grande. Peeper was written by Brinkley and published in December 1981. In March 1988, Brinkley wrote and published his last work, The Last Ship , a post-apocalyptic fiction novel dealing with the sailors of the USS Nathan James (DDG-80), a fictional United States Navy guided missile destroyer, which survives a brief, full-scale global nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. [13] [14] [15] Later life and death [ edit | edit source ] On November 22, 1993, after suffering from a major depressive disorder for over several years, Brinkley died by suicide at his home in McAllen, Texas, near the Gulf of Mexico, at the age of 76, from an of barbiturates. He was survived by his wife, Jean Brinkley, along with his sister, Virginia McCabe, his brother, Paul Brinkley, and his stepson, David Shelander. [16] Ten women reading Catholic women authors. We don't always understand the book and once in a while a few of us don't read the book, but ………. Sister Cecilia Kills Her Goose. We’ve been reading The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia: the Thrilling Story of a Heroic Nun and her Escape from the Communists by Sister Cecilia as told to William Brinkley. It was published in 1954 shortly after Sister left Slovakia with a band of priests and seminarians plus a family with 2 small children under cover of night and under the noses of Communist guards. Claudette Colbert played Sister Cecilia in the television version of Sister’s escape. Brinkley first wrote the story as a Life Magazine article. The author and his editors took the words of Sister Cecilia about her family, childhood, friends, vocation and life as a nun and managed to portray all of the innocence and happiness these entailed while moving the story along with the kind of pace that keeps you reading in the present moment; glad to be where you’re at while knowing something worthwhile is still coming up. Then, in a few pages, yet spanning many months Brinkley portrays Sister’s disbelief and shock at the dismantling of entire lives, moral foundations, communities and ultimately an ancient culture by foreign Communist invaders. I’m always amazed when an adult is able to capture glimpses into her childhood as though she were still there experiencing the fresh memories and emotions instead of recalling them 30 or 40 years later. At this, Sister and Brinkley are splendid! A humorous thread throughout Part II shows how little Cecilia had quite a bit of trouble with mischief and honesty as a young girl: “Watching the geese was fun. All day long you got to stay in the fields and play with the other little girls. Sometimes, though, the big goose would decide she wanted to go home before it was time. She would start off honking loudly, and ll the little goslings would follow her. This meant you had to go home with them and couldn’t play. One time when we were all playing and having fun, my big goose started for home. I got mad at her and picked up a big stick and hit her over the head. She fell down and lay there. I hadn’t meant to hit her so hard. I picked her up and carried her home in my arms crying all the way, and told Mamicka, my mother, ‘She died.’ Mamicka was very suspicious. ‘How could she die?’ she said. ‘She isn’t even blown up like a sick goose.’ ‘She just fell over and died,’ I said, crying loudly, but not mentioning the stick. Then the gypsies got the goose. Anything that died went to the gypsies. I felt bad about that goose for a long time. I was a very bad girl, and especially as a goosewatcher …. [b]y the time I was seven and went to my first confession, I must have had lot to go for.” Later in the story Sister confirms for a young girl who questions her about whether a bad little girl might grow up to become a nun, yes indeed she might! More posts about the Communist takeover of Slovakia and Sister Cecilia’s nerveracking escape will be added soon. Book Review: The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia. From the very first page, Sister Cecilia’s story is gripping and suspenseful. Through determination and many sacrifices, Cecilia transforms from a simple farm girl to a courageous nun able to outwit the Communists while remaining loyal to her calling. Sister Cecilia’s unique story-telling weaves together amusing stories from her childhood, her call to the religious life, the role she played in defying Communism, and her love for the Catholic faith into a beautiful and inspiring adventure. This remarkable true story will transport you back over 50 years to Catholic Slovakia, a time that was charming and simple, yet at the hands of the Communists, became dangerous and deadly.

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