I Was Gone Long Before I Left
What Living in the Monastery for Twenty-Five Years Taught Me about Life
Published by: Wipf and Stock Publishers
220 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 x 0.44 in
- Paperback
- 9781725280335
- Published: September 2020
- Hardcover
- 9781725280328
- Published: September 2020
- eBook
- 9781725280359
- Published: September 2020
Other Retailers:
In St. Teresa of Avila's classic spiritual book Interior Castle she describes a difficult period of time in her spiritual journey when she said, "When I think of myself, I feel like a bird with a broken wing." When I left the monastery thirty-eight years ago, this was exactly how I felt. I Was Gone Long Before I Left is the story about my interior struggle to leave the monastery after living this lifestyle for over twenty-five years. It explores the reasons why I went to the monastery, why I stayed, why I eventually left, and what I have learned. Maybe more importantly, it describes the many years of mental anguish, confusion, and depression that I went through to finally make this decision. It has brought back many painful memories and experiences and called for an honesty and vulnerability that I found daunting. For over thirty-eight years, I have been unable to write about my experience of life in the monastery because I felt ashamed. For years, I thought about leaving, but couldn't make this decision because I felt paralyzed psychologically and emotionally. Now, after all these years, I have found the courage to share my story.
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