Seeking Surrender: How My Friendship with a Trappist Monk Taught Me to Trust and Embrace Life

By: Colette Lafia and Daniel P. Horan O. F. M.

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Synopsis: An unlikely friendship between Colette Lafia and a silent monk at the Abbey of Gethsemani, where Thomas Merton lived, comes to life through seven years of shared letters. Lafia's palpable openness and warm storytelling lead readers through the same compassionate process that led the author to accept herself, find peace with life, and strive for an ever-deepening relationship with God. Folded within the deep friendship cultivated through letters exchanged between Colette Lafia, a spiritual director and retreat leader, and Brother Rene, a Trappist monk, is Lafia's struggle with infertility, insomnia, the loss of her sister, the declining health and eventual death of her father, and her role as caregiver. Brother Rene's compassion and guidance throughout these trials--and Lafia's responses--provide a template for helping readers to surrender to God in their own struggles. Readers will find simple exercises and profound advice for living a more conscious and intentional life, with tips such as, "look at yourself through God's eyes," "notice when fear arrives at your door," and "trust all is well. " Readers will ultimately discover a new attitude of acceptance and letting go.