A complete version of the story of a former novice who lived for several years in one of the well-known Russian women’s monasteries. This book was written not for publication and not even so much for readers as, first and foremost, for herself—with therapeutic goals. The author tells how she tried to follow the path of monastic life, entering an exemplary showpiece monastery. She never expected the holy abode to resemble a totalitarian hell and to take away so many years of her life. “Confession of a Former Novice” is the life of one modern women’s monastery as it truly is—described from the inside, without embellishment.