Pagan Babies : And Other Catholic Memories

As a child, Gina Cascone would hide under her bed, in the closet, and run away from her parents, hoping somehow to escape her worst fear. But she couldn’t hide from the awful truth…

She had to go to Catholic school.

Do nuns have legs? Is Original Sin the “starter sin” for novices? Can the rosary be said in under fifteen minutes? These are some of the questions that vex young Gina Cascone as she makes her way, grade by grade — and prayer by prayer — through the rigors of a Catholic education. All the answers can be found in this hilarious classic of childhood foibles: the traumatic first day of school, the dorky plaid uniform complete with matching beanie, glow-in-the-dark rosary beads, first confession trauma, proper dashboard decor (“Cadillacs got Jesus; Oldsmobiles got Mary”), and the race to save the most “pagan babies,” who weren’t lucky enough to be born Catholic and American.