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The Interior Silence: My Encounters with Calm, Joy, and Compassion at 10 Monasteries Around the World
A journey around the world to find tranquility, quiet the mind, and understand the power of silence.
Suffering from information overload and unable to sleep, acclaimed journalist Sarah Sands tried countless strategies to de-stress, only to find temporary relief. Searching for something different, something lasting, Sands went on a quest to uncover ancient and proven wisdom for a happier, quieter, and more compassionate life. In this insightful and beautifully written book, Sands takes us along on her pilgrimage to ten monasteries around the world.
In the remoteness of these sacred spaces, Sands observes a hidden knowledge held by monks and nuns—what she calls "the interior silence." Renouncing the material world, their inner concentration buoys them in an extraordinary weightlessness and freedom, an oasis of reflection. Behind the cloistered walls, Sands too finds a clarity of mind and an unexpected capacity for solitude.
From a Coptic desert community in Egypt to a retreat in the Japanese mountains, discover another way of being—moving from appetite, envy, and anxiety to compassion and appreciation. The ultimate remedy for a digital age in which everyone is talking, and no one is listening, this book reminds us of the importance of silence and the power of stillness.
BEYOND MINDFULNESS: The trendiness and explosion of books on meditation and mindfulness does not always solve our modern-day stressors or our fight-or-flight existence. The Interior Silence goes beyond new-age mindfulness to offer traditional wisdom from monks for quieting the mind and embracing simplicity.
DISCOVER ANCIENT WISDOM: For spiritual readers and wisdom seekers, The Interior Silence takes you directly to the root of these ancient practices, learning from monastic life around the world.
FOR ARMCHAIR TRAVELERS: For readers who enjoyed The Geography of Bliss, anyone who enjoys learning about new places and cultures, or for those craving a trip, this book will take you to the countryside's, deserts, and mountains of Japan, France, Egypt, Greece, and more.
Suffering from information overload and unable to sleep, acclaimed journalist Sarah Sands tried countless strategies to de-stress, only to find temporary relief. Searching for something different, something lasting, Sands went on a quest to uncover ancient and proven wisdom for a happier, quieter, and more compassionate life. In this insightful and beautifully written book, Sands takes us along on her pilgrimage to ten monasteries around the world.
In the remoteness of these sacred spaces, Sands observes a hidden knowledge held by monks and nuns—what she calls "the interior silence." Renouncing the material world, their inner concentration buoys them in an extraordinary weightlessness and freedom, an oasis of reflection. Behind the cloistered walls, Sands too finds a clarity of mind and an unexpected capacity for solitude.
From a Coptic desert community in Egypt to a retreat in the Japanese mountains, discover another way of being—moving from appetite, envy, and anxiety to compassion and appreciation. The ultimate remedy for a digital age in which everyone is talking, and no one is listening, this book reminds us of the importance of silence and the power of stillness.
BEYOND MINDFULNESS: The trendiness and explosion of books on meditation and mindfulness does not always solve our modern-day stressors or our fight-or-flight existence. The Interior Silence goes beyond new-age mindfulness to offer traditional wisdom from monks for quieting the mind and embracing simplicity.
DISCOVER ANCIENT WISDOM: For spiritual readers and wisdom seekers, The Interior Silence takes you directly to the root of these ancient practices, learning from monastic life around the world.
FOR ARMCHAIR TRAVELERS: For readers who enjoyed The Geography of Bliss, anyone who enjoys learning about new places and cultures, or for those craving a trip, this book will take you to the countryside's, deserts, and mountains of Japan, France, Egypt, Greece, and more.
233 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2021
30 people are currently reading
1495 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
February 19, 2022
Well, this book wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, but I can discuss why that's probably okay. Sarah Sands was a journalist and heavily involved in the BBC's Today show - constantly busy, worked all the time, never a lot of down time or rest without constant headlines and deadlines.
If you want to see it as her own journey of self-discovery away from job harm and toward more relationships and more outdoors time, this is a good read. But I really wanted to read the book it said it was, a journey to ten monasteries and a discussion of silence. Part of the problem was personality and pace - she would stay one night or bring family with her but one day is unlikely to go into silence, and bringing people with you is not going to allow you to immerse into the silence.
I also believe inner silence - meditation and the meditative life - is a practice, while Sands treats it here like a tourist excursion. She would spend one night at these historical sites and then write about it? But she hadn't experienced it yet! She writes about the scarcity and the quiet without really sharing an understanding of it herself. That happens a few times with a few different traditions and I kept putting the book aside. Then covid happened and her actual life grew more quiet and inner and it was like her life became her monastery. I actually thought that was the best inner journey component of the entire book.
All said, there are many better books about these monasteries and many better books talking about various traditions of contemplative life, and this one was disappointing.
If you want to see it as her own journey of self-discovery away from job harm and toward more relationships and more outdoors time, this is a good read. But I really wanted to read the book it said it was, a journey to ten monasteries and a discussion of silence. Part of the problem was personality and pace - she would stay one night or bring family with her but one day is unlikely to go into silence, and bringing people with you is not going to allow you to immerse into the silence.
I also believe inner silence - meditation and the meditative life - is a practice, while Sands treats it here like a tourist excursion. She would spend one night at these historical sites and then write about it? But she hadn't experienced it yet! She writes about the scarcity and the quiet without really sharing an understanding of it herself. That happens a few times with a few different traditions and I kept putting the book aside. Then covid happened and her actual life grew more quiet and inner and it was like her life became her monastery. I actually thought that was the best inner journey component of the entire book.
All said, there are many better books about these monasteries and many better books talking about various traditions of contemplative life, and this one was disappointing.
March 25, 2021
This book disappointed me. It is such a good idea, especially in these times, to explore Monastic Life across different religions and cultures and draw lessons for life.
The writer is immensely privileged, both personally with her evident affluence and professionally in terms of the doors that her senior position in the BBC open for her. She gains access to places and people that mere mortals could only dream of. But the tragedy of this book is that she squanders this privilege, writes poorly and ultimately has little of value to share with her reader beyond a lot of flat research facts.
The book is written in a style that works in an 800 word travel article but just doesn’t work in a book of this genre. She keeps her true self tightly buttoned and thus any meaningful connection with the reader is lost. All that’s left is a dry narrative of a series of lavish mini breaks she undertakes with her husband and assorted family members to places in or near monasteries.
She prefers to stay in luxury hotels but undergoes several nights as the guest of monasteries. In these she generally smuggles as many luxuries as she can in with her and reacts in horror to the basic facilities and any loss of connectivity to her work email. She insults the hospitality offered to a level I found mortifying. None more so than when her privilege secured her a night in a religious retreat near her home. She tore herself away from a shooting party to head up there with the usual luxuries in tow, immediately checked her phone. Slept there a few hours and then ignored the simple loaf left for her by the nuns and jumped straight in the car back to her beautiful home to eat musli with her husband. What lesson do we learn from that?!
The writer is immensely privileged, both personally with her evident affluence and professionally in terms of the doors that her senior position in the BBC open for her. She gains access to places and people that mere mortals could only dream of. But the tragedy of this book is that she squanders this privilege, writes poorly and ultimately has little of value to share with her reader beyond a lot of flat research facts.
The book is written in a style that works in an 800 word travel article but just doesn’t work in a book of this genre. She keeps her true self tightly buttoned and thus any meaningful connection with the reader is lost. All that’s left is a dry narrative of a series of lavish mini breaks she undertakes with her husband and assorted family members to places in or near monasteries.
She prefers to stay in luxury hotels but undergoes several nights as the guest of monasteries. In these she generally smuggles as many luxuries as she can in with her and reacts in horror to the basic facilities and any loss of connectivity to her work email. She insults the hospitality offered to a level I found mortifying. None more so than when her privilege secured her a night in a religious retreat near her home. She tore herself away from a shooting party to head up there with the usual luxuries in tow, immediately checked her phone. Slept there a few hours and then ignored the simple loaf left for her by the nuns and jumped straight in the car back to her beautiful home to eat musli with her husband. What lesson do we learn from that?!
May 17, 2021
A Disappointment.
Sarah Sands has been working too long as editor for the Evening Standard to learn the bad tricks of modern journalism, such as the use of clickbait titles. While the book is supposed to be about the peace of monasteries, it's filled with chatter - more specifically the stories of the tumultuous life of the author, details about travel such as power cords or lack of reception of mobile phones, etc. She claims to have studies zen, but clearly never learned to let go of her ego - this is a book about her, rather than about the silence of monasteries - don't buy this book if you want to learn about the real life in convents, at best it scratches the surface and gives a touristic account of spending a few nights (at most) in over a dozen of convents around the world. I didn't learn much... The only added value I gained from reading it were references to other books on which my money was better spent...
It's quite different from Patrick Leigh Fermor's book "A Time to keep Silence", who clearly spent enough time in a monastery to know what he was writing about.
Sarah Sands has been working too long as editor for the Evening Standard to learn the bad tricks of modern journalism, such as the use of clickbait titles. While the book is supposed to be about the peace of monasteries, it's filled with chatter - more specifically the stories of the tumultuous life of the author, details about travel such as power cords or lack of reception of mobile phones, etc. She claims to have studies zen, but clearly never learned to let go of her ego - this is a book about her, rather than about the silence of monasteries - don't buy this book if you want to learn about the real life in convents, at best it scratches the surface and gives a touristic account of spending a few nights (at most) in over a dozen of convents around the world. I didn't learn much... The only added value I gained from reading it were references to other books on which my money was better spent...
It's quite different from Patrick Leigh Fermor's book "A Time to keep Silence", who clearly spent enough time in a monastery to know what he was writing about.
February 22, 2022
(3.5) I saw Sands speak about this book as part of the online Church Times Festival of Faith and Literature last year and afterwards promptly ordered all of the speakers’ books (including How Not to Be Afraid by Gareth Higgins). She goes on a series of journeys, most pre-Covid and a few after, to experience tastes of the monastic life in Japan, Italy, France and so on. The slower pace of life she discovers staying as a guest at abbeys and monasteries is a tonic given her high-stress job at the time (heading up a British radio programme; she had previously edited a newspaper, which was similarly tied to the fast-paced news cycle).
The subtitle is somewhat misleading in that Sands doesn’t draw any particularly profound or definitive conclusions. These are just pleasant travels and gentle thoughts on humility and simplicity. The Salzburg chapter was disappointing in that it just turns into an excuse for silly Sound of Music tourism, and the Lindisfarne one didn’t add anything to my experience of having visited in July. The Egypt and Bhutan chapters were probably my favourites.
The subtitle is somewhat misleading in that Sands doesn’t draw any particularly profound or definitive conclusions. These are just pleasant travels and gentle thoughts on humility and simplicity. The Salzburg chapter was disappointing in that it just turns into an excuse for silly Sound of Music tourism, and the Lindisfarne one didn’t add anything to my experience of having visited in July. The Egypt and Bhutan chapters were probably my favourites.
February 27, 2022
I got this book as gift most likely I would not pick it for myself. :)
Very interesting topic but written so poorly that I'm happy that I've finished. Luckily some books were referenced and hopefully they are better.
[EN-Hardcover]
Very interesting topic but written so poorly that I'm happy that I've finished. Luckily some books were referenced and hopefully they are better.
[EN-Hardcover]
November 2, 2021
I stopped reading, as I don't like the author, didn't want to travel any more with her self centered ego
December 6, 2022
I’m not one to judge, but —
She never seemed that far from a cappuccino.
She never seemed that far from a cappuccino.
October 15, 2022
The premise of this book sounded really interesting but I thought it was going to be a little bit different than it actually was (and I can't even explain properly what I thought this book was going to be). The beauty and peace and serenity and history of monasteries... I am here for it. But all the mentions of COVID and Boris Johnson and whatnot all grew a little repetitive. I am over the pandemic and I didn't really want to go through it all over again by reading about it. So toward the end this book kinda dragged for me. I would recommend this more if you just wanted to read the parts about monasteries and nuns, etc. and you could just skim through all of the author's personal stuff.
February 25, 2024
This is a fascinating look at how a journalist of the 21st century fully attached to her electronic devices learned to unplug, discover value in simple practices of listening to monks singing the Psalms, watching nature and sun movements, and discovering how to live life more fully at a slower pace.
Perhaps the most amazing aspect is how Sarah and husband managed to travel to several historic monasteries and closed communities during the COVID lockdown years. She brings to life the struggle to let go of things we think we need daily in our lives, like fluffy pillows, constant cell service, meat and sweets, verbal communication, and continual new experiences. She explores the joy and serenity to be found in simple daily practices throughout ancient places in Africa, Asia, Europe and her home in England.
I have been to several places she describes, so can say that Sarah brings them alive and tells us how they have influenced the people around them and even history.
Perhaps the most amazing aspect is how Sarah and husband managed to travel to several historic monasteries and closed communities during the COVID lockdown years. She brings to life the struggle to let go of things we think we need daily in our lives, like fluffy pillows, constant cell service, meat and sweets, verbal communication, and continual new experiences. She explores the joy and serenity to be found in simple daily practices throughout ancient places in Africa, Asia, Europe and her home in England.
I have been to several places she describes, so can say that Sarah brings them alive and tells us how they have influenced the people around them and even history.
April 8, 2021
I have just finished listening to the audio book version of The Interior Silence by Sarah Sands. Subtitled, 10 Lessons from Monastic Life, the book is an attempt to explore contrasting expressions of spirituality.
The author is the former editor of Radio 4’s Today programme and the book is clearly well-intentioned. However, I feel it suffers from being rushed into print (and audio). The author visits various religious communities (some Christian and a few Buddhist) in an attempt to find out why people choose to live out their faith in this particular way. Many of the chapters are packed with so many facts that they read a little like Wikipedia entries, and they suffer from a lack of personal insight. How did this experience change you, Sarah? We never really find out.
The other major problem is that the pandemic interrupted this project half way through – but the author continued with it, notching up many air miles as she zig-zagged across the world in pursuit of her book. It might have been more sensible to suspend the project so it didn’t have this rushed feel, and to give the author a longer time to reflect on her experiences.
And the trip to The Sound of Music abbey is just bizarre in its inclusion. What light does this shed on her quest? Although, at times, engaging, I feel this was a missed opportunity.
The author is the former editor of Radio 4’s Today programme and the book is clearly well-intentioned. However, I feel it suffers from being rushed into print (and audio). The author visits various religious communities (some Christian and a few Buddhist) in an attempt to find out why people choose to live out their faith in this particular way. Many of the chapters are packed with so many facts that they read a little like Wikipedia entries, and they suffer from a lack of personal insight. How did this experience change you, Sarah? We never really find out.
The other major problem is that the pandemic interrupted this project half way through – but the author continued with it, notching up many air miles as she zig-zagged across the world in pursuit of her book. It might have been more sensible to suspend the project so it didn’t have this rushed feel, and to give the author a longer time to reflect on her experiences.
And the trip to The Sound of Music abbey is just bizarre in its inclusion. What light does this shed on her quest? Although, at times, engaging, I feel this was a missed opportunity.
April 17, 2022
This was a massively disappointing book. She kept repeating “It is not about you,” but clearly she thinks everything, including each monastery she visited, is indeed about her. The chapter that some people enjoyed—and which did offer some insight into solitude and silence—was the one where she was sequestered in her lovely country home. How nice for her and her over-privileged friends that they could find solace and renewal in the enforced lockdown. Pity those who couldn’t rise above the “silence” of being locked in with family in a tiny city apartment or squalid house, worrying about how to feed their children or pay their rent. She seemed totally clueless that there are people for whom a beautiful, safe country house isn’t even a dream but another planet entirely. This book had nothing to say about learning to find joy, silence, or, particularly, compassion.
March 7, 2022
I wanted to enjoy this so much but the authors voice of privilege and sometime obliviousness to her journey just put me off. I hate to say that. I got some good historical information about the monasteries she visits and a plethora of quotes from monks and philosophers and etc. but as far as enjoying this book? Ugh.
January 9, 2022
I really wanted to like this book, but it was almost as if there was too much information and not enough at the same time.
July 23, 2025
Really rather disappointing.
1) She intersperses visits to Christian and Buddhist monasteries as though they are the same thing. Buddhist and Christian monasticism, though they both have a lot to teach each other, are distinct phenomena with different aims. In Buddhist monasticism, the aim is personal peace and enlightenment; in Christian, these are only side-effects. Benedictine spirituality sees the monastery as serving three main purposes: as an 'ecclesiola in ecclesia' - a sort of laboratory that, because of the intensity of devotion there, serves as a model others to learn from; as a place where the wider world is prayed for; lastly, as means for monks/nuns to be joined to Christ. It is common for these things to be experienced alongside a certain degree of inner turmil. You could write a brilliant book comparing the two - but simply saying, 'They both have a lot of silence!' doesn't cut it.
2) Her trip to Salzburg is sympotmatic of the entire book. On this, she goes on a sound of music tour and stays in a hotel run by the Salzburg Priestly Seminary (which I imagine she went to Salzburg assuming would be a monastery). She goes to Nonnberg Abbey once, as far as I can tell, for their morning mass - and doesn't speak to a single nun. Knowing this convent myself, there are interesting things that she fails to mention in the Chorraum. Firstly, there is a painted ceiling of angels worshipping; this is meant to show how the nuns' praise on earth is taking part int worship in heaven. Secondly, there is a carved altar by Veit Stoss; surely this deserves some remark? Thirdly, the nuns sing Terce after mass, having already sung the first offices of the day during the night. This is uncommon, and a wonderful thing. Fourth, the priest celebrating mass is a monk from St Peter's down the hill - surely this should be mentioned in a book on monasticism. Fifth, St Peter's monastery, next door, was founded 1300 years ago, with the convent founded by the younger cousin of the monk who built St Peter's. Why did she not visit this monastery when she was in Salzburg? Sixth, she ONLY WENT TO MASS AT THE CONVENT ONCE AND DID NOT SPEAK TO A SINGLE NUN. She simply has not experienced the convent; she went on a weekend break to Salzburg with her husband, and went to mass once. I assume she doesn't speak German either.
3) In general, she doesn't seem to spend much time in the monasteries themselves, and she takes her family with her. These are not retreats. To know what a monastery is like, she should spend a good amount of time in one.
4) She doesn't seem to do any wrestling with the specifically Christian. She speaks to Timothy Radcliffe, and wilfully mischaracterises him having read (it seems) only one of his books.
5) there is almost no sense of the sacred throughout. Patrick Leigh Fermor, her hero, manages to capture the 'feel' of monasteries beautifully, even though he is an atheist. She never even does for a moment.
There is no way that this would have been published were she not editor on the Today programme. There are many people who have more experience in visiting monasteries, and many people who are better writers too.
1) She intersperses visits to Christian and Buddhist monasteries as though they are the same thing. Buddhist and Christian monasticism, though they both have a lot to teach each other, are distinct phenomena with different aims. In Buddhist monasticism, the aim is personal peace and enlightenment; in Christian, these are only side-effects. Benedictine spirituality sees the monastery as serving three main purposes: as an 'ecclesiola in ecclesia' - a sort of laboratory that, because of the intensity of devotion there, serves as a model others to learn from; as a place where the wider world is prayed for; lastly, as means for monks/nuns to be joined to Christ. It is common for these things to be experienced alongside a certain degree of inner turmil. You could write a brilliant book comparing the two - but simply saying, 'They both have a lot of silence!' doesn't cut it.
2) Her trip to Salzburg is sympotmatic of the entire book. On this, she goes on a sound of music tour and stays in a hotel run by the Salzburg Priestly Seminary (which I imagine she went to Salzburg assuming would be a monastery). She goes to Nonnberg Abbey once, as far as I can tell, for their morning mass - and doesn't speak to a single nun. Knowing this convent myself, there are interesting things that she fails to mention in the Chorraum. Firstly, there is a painted ceiling of angels worshipping; this is meant to show how the nuns' praise on earth is taking part int worship in heaven. Secondly, there is a carved altar by Veit Stoss; surely this deserves some remark? Thirdly, the nuns sing Terce after mass, having already sung the first offices of the day during the night. This is uncommon, and a wonderful thing. Fourth, the priest celebrating mass is a monk from St Peter's down the hill - surely this should be mentioned in a book on monasticism. Fifth, St Peter's monastery, next door, was founded 1300 years ago, with the convent founded by the younger cousin of the monk who built St Peter's. Why did she not visit this monastery when she was in Salzburg? Sixth, she ONLY WENT TO MASS AT THE CONVENT ONCE AND DID NOT SPEAK TO A SINGLE NUN. She simply has not experienced the convent; she went on a weekend break to Salzburg with her husband, and went to mass once. I assume she doesn't speak German either.
3) In general, she doesn't seem to spend much time in the monasteries themselves, and she takes her family with her. These are not retreats. To know what a monastery is like, she should spend a good amount of time in one.
4) She doesn't seem to do any wrestling with the specifically Christian. She speaks to Timothy Radcliffe, and wilfully mischaracterises him having read (it seems) only one of his books.
5) there is almost no sense of the sacred throughout. Patrick Leigh Fermor, her hero, manages to capture the 'feel' of monasteries beautifully, even though he is an atheist. She never even does for a moment.
There is no way that this would have been published were she not editor on the Today programme. There are many people who have more experience in visiting monasteries, and many people who are better writers too.
March 19, 2022
Overall, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. The premise was the author, a former BBC World Service Correspondent, trying to understand the wisdom of monastic traditions for the modern world. The introduction was pretty good and I was excited to see where she would go. What came out was ten travel pieces of varying quality. It actually helped solidify the difference for me between good and bad travel writing. Part of this problem might be that Covid-19 derailed that author's original plans of for the book. But funnily enough, I found that the best chapter in the book was the one where she was forced to stay home. I could see the kernel of a good book but I just don't think this one came together.
January 22, 2023
I enjoyed the author’s travels around the world as well as her descriptions of each locale. My word for the year is “calm”, so I am trying to read lots of books on this theme. When I searched the library database for books on this theme, this book came up.
Normally I would not read something like this, but I found the author’s writing style easy to read, although at times haphazard and a bit scattered. Her descriptions of the varying landscapes and cultures she visited was fascinating, making me want to take a similar journey someday. I also enjoyed the many references to the Christian faith and history. Although I am Protestant, so several of the catholic references were beyond me. Overall I’m glad I stuck with it!
Normally I would not read something like this, but I found the author’s writing style easy to read, although at times haphazard and a bit scattered. Her descriptions of the varying landscapes and cultures she visited was fascinating, making me want to take a similar journey someday. I also enjoyed the many references to the Christian faith and history. Although I am Protestant, so several of the catholic references were beyond me. Overall I’m glad I stuck with it!
April 3, 2024
The book you might think it is:
A well-written journal about monasticism based on some level of immersion into the lifestyle of the monks and nuns in each location. Some in depth research into their way of life and their philosophies, perhaps.
What you get:
Hastily crammed in dips into each location, normally as a 1 or 2 day adjunct to yet another family holiday, the anecdotes and observations more bougie than philosophical. Insights seemingly gleaned from the guide book or Wikipedia.
There is some redemption, though. If taken more as a memoir of a journalist wrestling with a need to be immersed in a busy world of news and networking against a more fundamental need to find balance, one might feel less disappointed in the promise of the blurb.
A well-written journal about monasticism based on some level of immersion into the lifestyle of the monks and nuns in each location. Some in depth research into their way of life and their philosophies, perhaps.
What you get:
Hastily crammed in dips into each location, normally as a 1 or 2 day adjunct to yet another family holiday, the anecdotes and observations more bougie than philosophical. Insights seemingly gleaned from the guide book or Wikipedia.
There is some redemption, though. If taken more as a memoir of a journalist wrestling with a need to be immersed in a busy world of news and networking against a more fundamental need to find balance, one might feel less disappointed in the promise of the blurb.
October 12, 2021
This is an honest book of the author's own struggle with busyness and her journey into these places where silence reigns. I enjoyed her reflections, the history of the monasteries, and that realization that we'd all do better to cultivate more silence in our lives. Thanks to the publisher for an ARC
Read
March 1, 2022I had gotten this from the library as the title had peeked my interest. I had enjoyed visiting different Buddhist and Taoist monasteries whilst in China, and was hoping to get more of a guided interest discussion points from this book. Wanted to like this more than I thought I would. Read a few chapters before giving up to read other things
November 30, 2024
A fast travelogue around some famous monasteries by a journalist who lives a fast paced privileged lifestyle. It sat uneasily with me that she did many of the journeys during the Covid years, and did she really need to take the phone charger she was lent ? If you want meditation guidance look elsewhere.
August 24, 2021
A search for peace in a modern secular life
Part travelogue, part self-exploration, this book draws on monastic discipline and calm as a counter to the all-consuming 'busy-ness' of life in today's self-absorbed world.
Part travelogue, part self-exploration, this book draws on monastic discipline and calm as a counter to the all-consuming 'busy-ness' of life in today's self-absorbed world.
February 21, 2023
An outer journey to an inner destination
Quest, meditation, a lively curiosity, warm engagement, and denouement in silence.
Sarah Sands is a knowledgeable and amiable companion: alone with others.
Quest, meditation, a lively curiosity, warm engagement, and denouement in silence.
Sarah Sands is a knowledgeable and amiable companion: alone with others.
September 5, 2023
This book makes you long for some interior silence for yourself. I'm not sure if we all can divorce ourselves from the hustle and bustle of life, but we can certainly slow down and not buy into the materialism of our world.
January 2, 2022
Curious book. Thought it would be about living an interior life but it was more about travel to different monasteries.
Read
March 18, 2022Interesting places to visit (at least in the first third of the book). But the treatment is superficial. Maybe it would have been better to go to just three or four places.
March 31, 2022
I enjoyed this book until she started the Julie Andrew’s sound of music portion- clearly ran out of material due to COVID. I find book filler annoying. Could have been a 4.
December 17, 2022
More a tourist guide than a study of monastic life. It is well-written and has good descriptions of the monasteries she visited however there is no actual engagement with silence.
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April 3, 2023Put it down… and just left it down.
July 15, 2023
Monastic life has always attracted me in so many ways...very interesting book and many new destinations to visit discovered. And, of course, nice spiritual thoughts and reflections.
July 9, 2025
I am adding visits to monasteries to my travel bucket list.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews