Thomas Merton: A Life in Letters

This collection of letters by one of the preeminent spiritual writers of the twentieth century shows how deeply the author engaged with others on a multitude of topics. If your idea of a monk is that of a solitary person, holed up in a monastery, away from and disinterested in the external world, this book will shatter that view. Thomas Merton was a prolific letter writer who engaged religious and lay people on topics ranging from, church doctrine, to pacifism, to social justice, to alternate religious views, to his own struggles with his vocation and his desire to be a hermit. The down to Earth, often self effacing, style of Merton’s correspondence leaves little doubt that he was not only a religious intellectual, but also a humble and genuine human being who sought real change in the world. This collection reveals the stunning depth of Merton’s thinking and provides a window into the world of a not so ordinary monk.