The book just wouldn’t go away.

Lori Lisowski first read “In This House of Breed,” a story about a monastery of contemplative nuns, as a high school student. Years later, she discovered the book again while perusing the shelves at a used bookstore.

Then in her 40s, Lisowski felt an overwhelming urge to read the novel yet again. As she poured over the pages, she was struck by one character in particular — a nun in her 40s.

“Oh my,” Lisowski remembers saying. “That’s me.”

On a recent Sunday, the 43-year-old LaCrosse, Wis., native became a postulant with the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Mankato. It’s the second of five stages in the process of becoming a nun.

The process, in some ways, lasts a lifetime. And it’s not one that was part of Lisowski’s long-range plan. She was a typical teenager and a typical college student who partied on the weekends. She went on to earn a degree in journalism from Drake University and a doctorate in history from the University of Southern California.

Lisowski drew a six-figure salary leading a staff of 50 at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. But she didn’t like who she’d become. She was less tolerant and more dictatorial. She wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted, but she knew she wanted to do more. To be more.

So in 2004, she walked away. From all of it. Every last bit of it. With no solid career plans in mind, she set her sights on Winona, where her grandfather lived. She’d grown up in LaCrosse.

Unemployed for a year, Lisowski volunteered for several organizations and helped take care of her grandfather. She later landed a job at the Winona Public Library.

Then one day, the idea of becoming a nun popped into her head.

“I dismissed it, but the thought wouldn’t go away,” she said.

She surfed the Internet for information. It was overwhelming — there were so many religious communities to choose from. She stumbled upon the School Sisters of Notre Dame’s Web site, and was impressed with its programs.

“It’s weird that something on the Internet can resonate with you in a spiritual way, but it did,” she said.

When Lisowski met with a few School Sisters, the hours just flew by. The process had begun.

“I just felt like I was at home,” she said.