Monastic Insight for Everyday LivingCloister Talks is a series of glimpses into Jon Sweeney's decades-long friendships with Cistercian and Benedictine monks in monasteries across the country. These communal brothers hold the keys to many of the things we all yearn for: stillness, solitude, simplicity, contemplation, and clarity of purpose. Here Sweeney shares with poignant honesty the wisdom he has gained among these holy yet still very human men. Their conversations engage a wide range of topics, including life, death, love, work, play, and spirituality, offering a deeper understanding of this ancient way of Christianity--a much-needed antidote to the hurry of contemporary life.
"In this poignant, richly nuanced book, Sweeney gives us our best record yet of the sweet tension between the cloister and the world that, like a leitmotif, sings always within those of us who yearn for both."--Phyllis Tickle, The Divine Hours
"If you ever wondered what a monk's life might be like, if you don't mind looking into a mirror to see the craziness of life in our culture, if you think you might splurge and go deeper with God, Sweeney shares his cloistered, very human, and wise friends with us as companions along the way."--James C. Howell, author of The Beautiful Work of Learning to Pray
"Cloister Talks is a contemplative conversation inviting us to know ourselves in the deep, deep love of the One by whom we're already known."--Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, author of New Monasticism
"This will be a very encouraging book for those who want to glean insights from monks for everyday life outside the cloister and need permission to fail from time to time in implementing what they have learned."--Dennis Okholm, author of Monk Habits for Everyday People
