May Iverson's Career

May Iverson has just walked across the stage of St. Catharine’s, celebrated for her many honors, and the crowd is already buzzing with good‑byes and proud tears. In the gentle twilight of the convent garden she sits with her father, a stern yet tender officer, and declares a startling wish—to devote her life to the cloister. He reacts with a mixture of shock and quiet pleading, offering a compromise that pulls her between the certainty of faith and the lure of a worldly career.

The novel unfolds in the quiet corridors of a boarding school and the bustling streets of a nearby town, tracking May’s inner tug‑of‑war as she weighs family expectations, personal ambition, and a yearning for deeper purpose. Through sharp dialogue and keen observation, the story captures the delicate balance of youthful resolve and the shaping influence of those who love us, inviting listeners to consider how much of ourselves we choose to give away and what we keep for ourselves.