For years, discussions of faith have been dominated by right-wing Christians. But William Claassen's Another World shows two alternative Christian faith traditions—one of contemplation and thoughtful community engagement; one of liberation theology and commitment to freedom from opression and hate.
Readers. .. will appreciate finding this volume on library shelves.
Congregational Libraries Today
[Claassen] weaves his own musings with those of the monks and fellow visitors while observing the time-honored rhythms of the community. Reading this book feels a bit like a retreat unto itself.
As Claassen describes his walks around the winter grounds—often blanketed in snow—a reader can sense how his own spirituality seems wrapped in a down of comfort and protection. 'Each retreat day I peel back yet another layer of conciousness and, in doing so, reach a deeper level of awareness and vulnerability.
In an age when everyone is discovering the monk within, it is refreshing to read William Claassen's Another World: A Retreat in the Ozarks . Claassen, a lay visitor and retreatant, writes with great empathy and insight as he relates his monastic adventure. It deserves a wide readership.
Another World is, among the countless books published this year, a stand out volume, a wonderful book that deserves countless readers.
Claassen writes in such a way that it places you there while experiencing everything in the monastery.. .. Author William Claassen is an appealing writer for religion and spirituality book enthusiasts as well as travelers who enjoy finding destinations off the beaten path.. .. Another World is just that—a spiritual journey into a completely different plane of existence. Views
Another Wolrd takes the reader behind the scenes of Assumption Abbey, a secluded Trappist monastary in the foothills of the Missouri Ozarks, where 14 monks live in prayerful community and bake fruitcakes to support themselves.. .. He (Claassen) participates in the daily schedule of prayer and worship and gradually finds himself quieting down. As new visitors arrive, he detects a difference between his newfound peace and their city tension....The book is written without advocacy for this way of life, but the reader comes to understand its appeal.
Claassen believes the monks have much to teach our society.. .. More people visit monasteries than call them home. Claassen's book shows why such visits can offer spiritual refreshment.
Kansas City Star - January 30
His thoughtful prose shows both monk and visitor in deep reflection, using time apart from the world as a means to understand it better.
William Claassen's reflections show that monasticism has a radical signpost for all of us to live in greater concordance with one another and with the world around us.
An affectionate, insightful look into monastic life. Here is the opportunity for anyone to tag along with William Claassen to experience the quiet miracles happening in monasteries today.
Classen was given the talent to describe this lifetime process of bridging both worlds, acting for social justice causes on the outside, and being renewed spiritually and psychologically on the inside. Even his musical references are bilateral.. .. All these mental meanderings have culminated in the birth of this small, to-be-treasured volume, including selected quotes from many titles in its refined bibliography. In total, they represent Classen's six-decade milestone, a gift to his readers and himself.
As Claassen describes his walks around the winter grounds—often blanketed in snow—a reader can sense how his own spirituality seems wrapped in a down of comfort and protection. 'Each retreat day I peel back yet another layer of conciousness and, in doing so, reach a deeper level of awareness and vulnerability.
December 2007 Columbia Daily Tribune
Readers. .. will appreciate finding this volume on library shelves.
July / August 2008 Congregational Libraries Today
Classen was given the talent to describe this lifetime process of bridging both worlds, acting for social justice causes on the outside, and being renewed spiritually and psychologically on the inside. Even his musical references are bilateral.. .. All these mental meanderings have culminated in the birth of this small, to-be-treasured volume, including selected quotes from many titles in its refined bibliography. In total, they represent Classen's six-decade milestone, a gift to his readers and himself.
August 2008 The Bloomsbury Review
His thoughtful prose shows both monk and visitor in deep reflection, using time apart from the world as a means to understand it better.
January 2009 The Sunday Oregonian
Claassen writes in such a way that it places you there while experiencing everything in the monastery. . . . Author William Claassen is an appealing writer for religion and spirituality book enthusiasts as well as travelers who enjoy finding destinations off the beaten path. . . . Another World is just that—a spiritual journey into a completely different plane of existence.
[Claassen] weaves his own musings with those of the monks and fellow visitors while observing the time-honored rhythms of the community. Reading this book feels a bit like a retreat unto itself.
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. (Nov.)
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