Merton, Thomas

The Intimate Merton

In this diary-like memoir, composed of his most poignant and insightful journal entries,The Intimate Mertonlays bare the steep ways of Thomas Merton's spiritual path. Culled from the seven volumes of his personal journals, this twenty nine year chronicle deepens and extends the story Thomas Merton recounted and made famous inThe Seven Storey Mountain.This book is the spiritual autobiography of our century's most celebrated monk -- the wisdom gained from the personal experience of an enduring spiritual teacher. Here is Merton's account of his life's major challenges, his confrontations with monastic and church hierarchies, his interaction with religious traditions east and west, and his antiwar and civil-rights activities. InThe Intimate Mertonwe engage a writer's art of "confession and witness" as he searches for a contemporary, authentic, and global spirituality. Recounting Merton's earliest days in the monastery to his journey east to meet the Dalai Lama,The Intimate Mertoncaptures the essence of what makes Thomas Merton's life journey so perennially relevant.