Another World: A Retreat in the Ozarks

Another World explores day to day life in a small Trappist monastery tucked away in the Ozark foothills. Interweaving memoir with conversations with the monks, observations of community life, and relationships with other visitors, Claassen provides a window into contemporary monastic life. Each chapter describes a day in the monastery. The reading experience is like spending time away from the world in a real community that is very human and gently inspiring. Eighteen black & white photos by the author further evoke the experience.

"After his first stay at a monastery 25 years ago, writer and social activist Claassen knew monastic retreats were destined to become a significant part of his life. Having found a community that understood his hunger for silence and solitude, he went on to repeat the experience many times at monasteries in North and South America. This book, an account of one such retreat at Assumption Abbey in Missouri, brings together Claassen's many and diverse experiences both inside and outside various monastery walls. In the context of his own retreat, the author skillfully mingles details from his life with those of the monks and monastery visitors he meets during his stay, adding flashbacks to his past and sketches of his dreams. In so doing, he shows how 'The retreats are not an escape, but rather an opportunity to come face to face with my shadows and with my light.' Claassen, who was raised as a Protestant, confirmed as a Catholic and now attends Quaker meetings, writes appreciatively of the welcome he has always received at the various monasteries he has visited. Such communities, he says, are inclusive and nonjudgmental, rejecting the 'conquer and convert' approach to religion. Claassen's blended religious background and perspective make this an inviting book for readers of any or no faith, and his photographs provide added visual interest." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Written in the first person, Another World is C. William Claasen's spiritual memoir of a personal retreat at Assumption Abbey; a Trappist monastery tucked away in the Ozark foothills. Each chapter is a retreat day that unfolds from morning to night, and includes dreams, personal revelations, interviews, and interactions with the monks and guests. Readers of Another World will be transported to a tranquil and spiritual place that provides a welcome respite from their hectic lives.