Reading: Retreats
Stories of silence, solitude what happens when we retreat
Patrick Leigh Fermor
An exhausted Fermor describes his retreat to a Benedictine abbey in 1953 needing somewhere quiet to write. This slender book (my favourite kind) follows his weeks among monks in France and Cappadocia, where the “huge, black wings” of monastic quiet settle over him. For those familiar with Fermor’s travel writing this is a pleasant diversion.
Adam Nicolson
Nicolson inherited the Shiants — a clutch of uninhabited Hebridean islands shaped entirely by weather, sea, and solitude. Part memoir, part natural history, it’s his meditation on owning a remote place. Solitude for Nicolson isn’t loneliness but freedom.
Pico Iyer
For over thirty years, Pico Iyer has returned to a Benedictine monastery in Big Sur, perched above the Pacific. Not religious, he goes to rediscover a silence we often forget exists. Written in brief, epigrammatic fragments, with lots to take away. I dip into this book often.
Neil Ansell
Ansell’s account of his 5 years living alone in remote cottage in the hills reads like a Welsh Walden. The author's description of sitting by the riverbank immersed in the moment is compelling. For me the interesting thing about this book is how after a year or so, he felt that the wild creatures around him became his society.
Sara Maitland
Part memoir, part intellectual history, Sara Maitland’s A Book of Silence explores silence as a retreat from the noise of modern life. She once led retreats in the Sinai—gatherings I wish I’d experienced.
Thomas Merton
A brisk read of the rather beautiful sayings from an early breed of spiritual nonconformists: the first Christian hermits living in ancient Egypt and Palestine. Selected by the American theologian Thomas Merton. If you’re in the mood, it’s good medicine.
Pablo d'Ors
Pablo d'Ors is a Catholic priest whose life was changed by Zen meditation. As someone who dabbles with Zen meditation, I found this an interesting read. The book is disarming, honest about the authors struggles, and shows us the deep joy of silence that is available to us all.
Thich Nhat Hanh
“Unless you live alone in the mountains without electricity, cahnces are you are absorbing a constant stream of noise all day.” The first lines of a wise and useful book by a renowned Vietnamese monk.
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