The Seeker and the Monk

Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton

By: Sophfronia Scott

Narrated by: Kellye A. Saunders

What if we truly belong to each other? What if we are all walking around shining like the sun?

Mystic, monk, and activist Thomas Merton asked those questions in the twentieth century. Writer Sophfronia Scott is asking them today.

In The Seeker and the Monk, Scott mines the extensive private journals of one of the most influential contemplative thinkers of the past for guidance on how to live in these fraught times.

As a Black woman who is not Catholic, Scott both learns from and pushes back against Merton, holding spirited and intimate conversations on race, ambition, faith, activism, nature, prayer, friendship, and love. She asks: What is the connection between contemplation and action? Is there ever such a thing as a wrong answer to a spiritual question? How do we care about the brutality in the world while not becoming overwhelmed by it?

By engaging in this lively discourse, listeners will gain a steady sense of how to dwell more deeply within—and even to love—this despairing and radiant world.

©2021 Sophfronia Scott (P)2022 Tantor

Magnificent!

An engaging narrative. The book is well-read and the author does a compelling job of engaging with Merton’s journals.

Merton’s faith and conviction to it.

Merton had multiple reasons to leave the monastery but was drawn by faith to stay.

Its OK, but has not much to do with Merton

This is realy an autobiography of the author told against the background of Merton's writings. Its OK, but not particularly informative. It reflects the struggles of a woman growing up in a somewhat confusing America and trying to make sense of it.

Thought-provoking and engaging This book was

This book was my a introduction to the life and writings of Thomas Merton. I appreciated the author’s personal reflections and wonderings…even her dialogue
with Merton. I like her writing style. She gives space for the reader’s own thoughts and seeking to surface while reading. The writings she lifted up sparked my curiosity and I read more, beyond the pages of this book. I will continue my own search to learn more about this monk, as well as read more books by Sophfronia Scott.