By 1952, Thomas Merton's renown as the bestselling author of The Seven Storey Mountain was well established. During the years illuminated by this third volume of his private journals, Merton struggled to reconcile his celebrity with his desire for a life of hermetic silence and contemplation. Already at the Abbey of Gethsemani for over a decade, Merton was beginning to grow impatient with the strictures and shortcomings of conventional monastic life....

In 7th century Rome, the man due to be the next archbishop of Canterbury is strangled while awaiting his consecration. An Irish brother is a suspect and the motive is believed to be political. Sister Fidelma of the Celtic Church goes to work.

"This pioneering study vividly portrays the nuns of the Redna Menling monastery in Dolanji (India), the headquarter of the Bön religion in exile. It focuses on the developments of the Bön in exile, the specific context in witch Bön nuns live and how the monastic tradition takes shape. It provides interesting insights into the monastic community in exile, the historic context of the Bön religion as well as the personal motives to become a nun"--Publisher's...