Seeking Surrender: How My Friendship With a Trappist Monk Taught Me to Trust and Embrace Life

An unlikely friendship between Colette Lafia and a silent monk at the Abbey of Gethsemani, where Thomas Merton lived, comes to life through seven years of shared letters. Lafia's palpable openness and warm storytelling lead readers of Seeking Surrender through the same compassionate process that led the author to accept herself, find peace with life, and strive for an ever-deepening relationship with God.

Folded within the deep friendship cultivated through letters exchanged between Colette Lafia, a spiritual director and retreat leader, and Brother René, a Trappist monk, is Lafia’s struggle with infertility, insomnia, the loss of her sister, the declining health and eventual death of her father, and her role as caregiver. Brother René’s compassion and guidance throughout these trials—and Lafia's responses—provide a template for helping readers to surrender to God in their own struggles.

Readers of Seeking Surrender will find simple exercises and profound advice for living a more conscious and intentional life, with tips such as, “look at yourself through God’s eyes,” “notice when fear arrives at your door,” and “trust all is well.” Readers will ultimately discover a new attitude of acceptance and letting go.