|
Merton and Friends Weblog
|
Thomas Merton and the Forbidden Love Affair That Set Him Free Mark Shaw To be published by Palgrave Macmillan, November 11, 2009 Spiritual writer Thomas Merton is the most influential American Catholic author of the twentieth century, one whose books sold more copies than Hemingway, Kerouac, or Fitzgerald. Despite Joan Baez calling Merton "a true man with a lightness like the Dalai Lama," and Ann Lamott saying "Merton was a source of light and comfort and humor [for me]," an unknown, dark side existed in his life since he had never known the true meaning of love. Only when the suffering Merton fell madly in love with a student nurse, a forbidden, erotic affair condemned by the Catholic Church, would he discover whether his devotion to God was stronger than his dedication to the woman he called "a miracle in my life." Truly an inspirational story based on Merton's personal journals, Beneath the Mask of Holiness presents a unique portrayal of the famous monk, one never revealed in its entirety before. ©
|