Any review of this book must consider the central issue of whether it is truth or fiction. One also has to consider what a lone woman like Maria Monk was up against back in the 19th century when she took on the mighty Catholic Church and its legions of zealous supporters in high and low positions in society.

The most difficult thing one faces when one reveals bad things about respected institutions is that few people are willing or able to believe it and this is exactly what occurred in Maria Monk's case.

It is quite clear that she told exactly what she saw in the Black Nunnery of Montreal. It is also quite clear that the Church had the wherewithall to counter her story and relegate it to the so-called "anti-Catholic" genre. This trick term has so far proven quite effective in deceiving the gullible.

The great irony of it all is that Maria Monk merely did what courageous people abused by the church have done up to this very day: Tell the public what happened and the church continues to do effective damage control. When will we ever learn?