The Cloister Walk

The celebrated author of the New York Times bestseller Dakota: A Spiritual Geography turns here to the monastery as her spiritual landscape. She explores monastic life and its meaning with respect to our daily lives. With insight and lyrical grace, she takes us through a liturgical year in a Benedictene monastery. Simultaneous hardcover release from Riverhead. 2 cassettes.

In the tradition of Thomas Merton, Kathleen Norris gives us an intimate look at how religious life fills a gap in the soul. Her poetic sensibilities internalize the monastery as a symbol of spirituality, with its sanctity and humor, questioning and uncertainty, rhythm and vigor. Beyond moral precepts and Bible stories, Cloister Walk is a very personal account of religion lived fully. It depicts a depth and beauty of spirituality in monastic life that has survived the vicissitudes of Roman Catholic politics and pomp.