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The Close: A Young Woman's First Year At Seminary Paperback – July 5, 2001

by Chloe Breyer (Author)

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Set in the context of the Church Year, The Close is an enthralling account of one young woman's spiritual journey. It is both a personal meditation on faith, in the spirit of Kathleen Norris's Cloister Walk, and a fascinating behind-the-scenes story of a graduate student's first year, in the mode of Scott Turow's One L. Raised in a liberal, interfaith home, Breyer, responding to an inner call to a spiritual vocation, began her training at New York's General Theological Seminary in 1997. She describes her intense immersion in daily prayer, the rigors and rewards of the academic program, and the challenging tension between secular and spiritual that marks her training, including working as a chaplain at Bellevue Hospital. She probes the day-to-day meanings of such profound issues as exaltation, enlightenment, and redemption, illuminating the unique experience of a young person of faith preparing to live and hoping to thrive in a secular modern world.

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Basic Books
Publication date

July 5, 2001
Dimensions

6.25 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

0465007155
ISBN-13

978-0465007158
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chloe Breyer is a seminary student at General Theological Seminary in New York City. The daughter of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, she is the founder of Who Cares, a publication for people working in service and community activism. This is her first book.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books (July 5, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0465007155
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0465007158
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,620,583 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #714 in Episcopalian Christianity (Books)
- #910 in Clergy
- #245,911 in Biographies (Books)

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2.6 out of 5

11 global ratings

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The Grammar Gremlin

Sophomoric, tedious, lame ramblings of an immature and spiritually unfocused student...

Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2007

I bought this book with high hopes and great expectations only to be gravely disappointed. Not only is Ms. Breyer's religion a strange hodge-podge of beliefs mixed with snobbish atheism, but her writing is imprecise, droll, and simply boring. She writes about events that could have been truly soul-stirring and inspirational had she opened her heart a little, and used her cutting wit less.

Yes, she is funny at times, and that's great, but she doesn't seem to grasp the seriousness of a devout and holy calling. It appears that she pursued a liberal theological degree merely as a means to get into more lusty activism on a plethora of divisive social issues. How is her vague, permissive religion going to guide the way for anyone? There are no codes or ethics in her idealogy, just a feel-good philosophy that engages everyone but Christians who believe in the old-fashioned concepts of right and wrong, and precise Biblical teaching on critical moral and social behaviors. It's sad that our colleges are producing such empty, self-aggrandizing, and ignoble 'leaders'. There is nothing diverse or courageous about being conformed to the image of this world and all its precepts. I fear that Breyers is a sad product of a materialistic and hedonistic society, and not the heroine of a new world order that she would probably like to be. Her words did not ring true, nor did they inspire me to greater spiritual exploration. I will stick with more reliably encouraging Christian authors instead of looking for something 'new' as I did with this book. I was overwhelmingly disappointed, and wish I'd spent the $20 on a more meaningful and sacred work.

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

Lyn G. Brakeman

Out of the Ivory Bell Tower

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2007

Verified Purchase

Chloe Breyer's memoir, "The Close," provides a close look at the seminary education as well as the spiritual formation of a priest in the Anglican tradition (Episcopal Church USA) who happens to be a woman. There is information for the just plain curious and a vivid portrayal of a young woman, newly married, overwhelmed by the Greek language, thrilled by biblical insights and trying to sort out her own thoughts and feelings about this odd vocation.

Possibly, the most successful characteristic of Breyer's book, besides being a good read, is that it brings the often overloaded-with-mystique priestly vocation out of the clouds and down to earth.

Also, in my unhumble opinion, Breyer's theology is politically correct in an integrated way:You can be religious and live in the 21st century without guile. That's material for sanity and peaceful relations in an ever-expanding multi-everything world, if not cosmos.

3 people found this helpful

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david jones smith

underwhelmed

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2001

This is a disappointing and rather superficial memoir of a young woman's experience as a first year seminary student at general theological seminary in new york. i found myself more than a little baffled as to how and why she landed in seminary school, since the depth of her calling (from her own self-descriptions) is about as shallow as a puddle. Or is episcopal div school just another validating experience for well-educated social activists?
breyer comes across as an immature and self-conscious do-gooder torn between her drive for personal status and her call to the episcopal priesthood. afterall, as she reminds us over and over, general is not harvard. nor does an M.div carry the status of say, a stanford MBA. (fortunately, her husband is a management consultant--i guess that serves as a vicarous outlet for the author's other life pretentions.)
on the whole, this is a less than self-critical look at the first-year of seminary school and the call to the priesthood.

21 people found this helpful

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Harriet Mailmon

A very weak read about a potentially enriching experience

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2004

The author is an extremely self-centered and shallow young woman who thinks she is doing the world a favor by going to Episcopal divinity school and writing about the experience. Hey, why does one go to Div school in the first place if you don't like to pray?

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

Atreides

Criticizing A Person Isn't A True Review of their Work

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2005

I bought this book "before" I read some of the most negative reviews here. I'm glad I read Ms. Breyer's book in spite of

those reviews, "one" in particular, in which the reviewer seemed

more interested in slamming the Episcopal church and Ms Breyer, then reviewing the book itself.

I did find fault with the brevity of this book, and format.

I think an account of Breyer's entire experience, and more

discussion of what led her into ministry would have helped.

Overall, I think it's important for the reader to remember

that Ms. Breyer is giving us her "own" perspective.

That is helpful when reading it, because it was very easy for me

to want to know "more" and become disappointed.

As a Catholic man, with experience as an Episcopalian during my youth, I can recall my "surprise" when i attended my first Eucharistic service celebrated by a woman "pastor".

It was comforting. I've continued to attend Episcopal services,

and recently met a young woman discerning whether to become an Episcopal priest. I encouraged her, and when I saw this book,

I read it myself to get what i hoped would be a better understanding of women in ministry, and my friend.

I was not disappointed.

I will happily keep my copy to pass along to others who may have an interest in ministry and the church. Someone

used the book review to criticize the Episcopal church. I

was impressed with the honesty of youthful inquiry found in

Ms. Breyer's pages. While I have my own viewpoints of Scripture and doctrine, I was pleased that the book was less about

doctrine and more about one young woman's experience in seminary.

Don't "read anything else" into it or use it to bash the church, and you'll enjoy it. I did.

Regina

15 people found this helpful

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