Why would a married woman with a thoroughly Protestant background and often more doubt than faith be drawn to the ancient practice of monasticism, to a community of celibate men whose days are centered around a rigid schedule of prayer, work and scripture reading?
Part record of poet Kathleen Norris's time among the Benedictines, part meditation on various aspects of monastic life, 'The Cloister Walk' demonstrates, from the perspective of someone who is both an insider and an outsider, how immersion in the cloistered world - its liturgy, its ritual, its sense of community - can impart meaning to everyday events and deepen our secular lives.
In this stirring and lyrical work, the monastery becomes immediate, accessible and relevant to us, no matter what our faith may be.
