Brother Cyril's Book

By: Penelope Wilcock

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Synopsis: Young Brother Cyril is devastated. He’s right at the start of his monastic life. Everything looked so promising, but now it’s all been ruined by one glib, unthinking remark. He will be a laughing stock forever. What can he do to restore his self-esteem? Then he has his glorious idea. He decides to write a book about the monks of his community, asking each about the purpose and direction of their lives. Threading through Brother Cyril’s conversations with the brothers of St. Alcuins abbey, however, are some of the stories that can never be written—stories of the heart, and of private and personal struggles—like Brother Felix wrestling with scrupulosity and shame, or Father Francis deciding to lay down what meant so much to him. On the way, Brother Cyril learns more than he’d expected. In the end, his book becomes a book of gratitude.