Prologue and Chapter 1 Summary

The novel In This House of Brede follows the journey of successful business woman Philippa Talbot as she leaves her life to become a nun at Brede, a Benedictine monastery. Although she joins the monastery at a more advanced age than most nuns, Philippa is able to use the life experiences she has had to help solve problems and elicit change at her monastery. Philippa ultimately lets go of the hurt and unforgiveness associated with her most painful experience, the death of her son, and is appointed prioress of a Japanese abbey. In the final chapters of the book, she is able to give her whole self to God, the ultimate challenge for any Christian.

This brief prologue details Philippa Talbots' final day outside the Brede Monastery. At it's conclusion she is drinking in a bar near the entrance...