A Meaningful Book That Resonates With Anyone
WOSU Book Critic Kassie Rose reviews "Acedia & me: A Marriage, Monks, and A Writer’s Life" by Kathleen Norris.

by Kassie Rose

Kathleen Norris is the critically acclaimed author of The Cloister Walk, Amazing Grace, and Dakota. Her new book takes a close look at a little known sickness of the soul called acedia. WOSU book critic Kassie Rose offers this review of "Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and A Writer's Life."

For a long time, acedia has been considered an affliction of monks. Stricken with this condition, monks become detached from daily praying and haunted by a sense of futility. Acedia literally means not-caring, and a monk with acedia no longer cares about the vocation that once brought him joy.

When the author Kathleen Norris discovered acedia in the writings of a 4th Century monk, she recognized something she had felt for most of her life as a woman, writer and wife but had never been able to name.

That discovery took Norris down the path of writing her marvelous new book in which she eloquently traces the evolution of acedia and analyzes its definition. She also provides a wise, intimate inquiry into how acedia can penetrate not just a cloistered monastic life but a hectic, modern one.

Here is an excerpt from the book's audio version read by the author:

"I believe that such standard dictionary definitions of acedia as "apathy," "boredom," or "torpor" do not begin to cover it, and while we may find it convenient to regard it as a more primitive word for what we now term depression, the truth is much more complex. Having experienced both conditions, I think it likely that much of the restless boredom, frantic escapism, commitment phobia, and enervating despair that plagues us today is the ancient demon of acedia in modern dress."

Norris wrestles with many of acedia's complexities from delving into the concept of sloth to wrestling with the concept of sin. She personalizes the complexities by demonstrating acedia's destructive effect on her ordinary days and routines. And then there are the most tender, compelling passages about the realities of commitment as Norris takes care of her husband during a terminal illness.

Here she reflects on the transforming process of moving from loving and serving out of joy – to loving and serving no matter the cost.

"This requires great resolve in the face of a crushing acedia; but having witnessed how both my marriage and I were transformed as I more fully embraced what caregiving required of me, I feel that I have learned a little about what it can mean to see this process through. I also know that I am likely to come up short in the future. Commitment always costs, and there is a particular burden in loving another person, if for no other reason than the fact that this beloved will one day die. This is the true strength of a woman willing to give birth, despite the odds. This is the love demanded of any husband, wife, or parent. It is the freely chosen love Virgil spoke of to Dante, and the love that Dante came to realize moves the moon and the stars."

This is a complicated book, but by complicated I don't mean intimidating. Quite the opposite.

Norris is brilliantly gifted in bringing monastic wisdom into a meaningful modern presence that can resonate with anyone. We are fortunate she shares her experiences and insights in books because as Norris reveals her efforts to live intentionally – willing always to start anew each day – we see ways to do the same.

"Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and A Writer's Life" is published by Riverhead Books. The audio version is published by Penguin Audio.
I'm Kassie Rose.

WOSU Book Critic Kassie Rose can be heard Mondays at 12:35pm during NPR's "Day To Day" on WOSU 820.

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