Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession

Anne Rice presents her first nonfiction work, a memoir detailing her spiritual evolution from atheism to Catholicism. The narrative begins with her childhood in New Orleans as part of a devout Irish Catholic family. It traces her loss of religious belief during her young adulthood and her subsequent years in radical Berkeley, where she launched her writing career. Rice recounts the publication of Interview with the Vampire and her exploration of supernatural themes that mirrored her moral struggles. She addresses personal tragedies, including her mother’s alcoholism and the deaths of her daughter and husband, Stan Rice. The text also covers the birth of her son, Christopher, and the family’s return to New Orleans in 1988. The memoir explains how an intense conversion to Christ reshaped her literary goals. This spiritual shift directly influenced her later novels, including Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt and Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana. Readers interested in author biographies or religious memoirs will find this account compelling. Those seeking pure fiction may prefer her earlier vampire tales.