In this diary-like memoir, composed of his most poignant and insightful
journal entries, The Intimate Merton lays 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 in The 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. In The Intimate Merton we
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 Merton captures the essence of
what makes Thomas Merton's life journey so perennially relevant.