Book excerpt: The life of a young nun in New England in the 1960s provides the backdrop for the provocative and highly relevant new novel Fifty Shades of Black and White: Confessions of a Naughty Nun. Eighteen-year-old Catherine Connor first enters the convent in September 1959. She begins her training as a postulant in Cumberland, Rhode Island. The story starts with her experiences in the novitiate and follows her as she takes her final vows. At the end of her postulant year, she becomes Sister Mary Irene Joseph. Her first mission after completing her education is to teach at a Catholic school in Fall River, Massachusetts. There she meets and falls in love with the young parish priest, Paul Kelly, who persistently pursues her. Catherine's experiences describe both convent life and her intimate love story, which is at times funny, sad, and melancholy. Fifty Shades of Black and White poses problems that the church is still struggling with today. Catherine's story is one you will never forget.