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It’s not your typical spiritual path. Kathleen Norris, who had grown up
Protestant but then left church for years, tells in this meditative memoir how
she rediscovered Christian faith through Benedictine monks, having found herself
staying at a monastery in Minnesota for two extended stays.
She brings a unique perspective to this book as the seemingly most unlikely
of monastery guests—a poet and a married woman with a strong Protestant
background and a lot of doubt. She becomes what she calls a Benedictine Presbyterian—she
joins the monastery as an oblate, which is a layperson associated with the monastery.
In this New York Times best-selling book, Norris tells in dense poetic
prose about what she’s learned from the profoundly counter-cultural world
of the monastery—about liturgy, about prayer, about discipline, about living
in community, and about the values and difficulties of celibacy. She discusses
the role of monasteries in today’s culture and the tension between faith
and doubt and mystery. Kathleen brings her excellent writing skills and poetic
perspective to an often-overlooked subject.
This book is well worth the read, though its rich prose may make you want to
read short sections at a time to give you an opportunity to savor the language
and digest the ideas.
