Incognito

Filled with humor, insight, and faith, this true story tells how one woman overcame challenges, stereotypes, and personal struggles at Harvard Divinity School and emerged an ordained minister.

As a bright young girl from Ohio, Andrea Raynor always wanted to be a doctor. Instead, she landed— almost by accident—at Harvard Divinity School, which, she quickly discovered, was no typical semi­nary. When she attended, in the 1980s, HDS was a place overflowing with creative expression and freedom of thought. Her classmates included two men who were undergoing sex changes and a woman who fancied herself a geisha. There was a lively gay and lesbian caucus, marches on Washington, civil disobedience, and more sexual intrigue than could be found in a stereotypical college fraternity house.

Providing a bird’s-eye view of life within the hallowed halls (and beneath the crimson robes), Incognito is a humorous and poignant glimpse inside one of the nation’s most revered institutions. It begins with the long drive from Ohio to Cam­bridge and ends at the bedside of a dying young woman. But the real story is about the challenges, surprises, and ultimately life-changing experi­ences Andrea faced on the road to understanding God’s call for her life. From navigating relation­ships to exploring whether a pretty girl can truly wear a collar, Incognito tackles our assumptions about spirituality, the church, morality, and identity, and affirms that God often works in ways—and in people—we least expect.