This book contains correspondence between these two Catholics over an 18-month period from 1966 to 1968. At the time Thomas Merton was wrestling with ideas about monastic renewal while living at the Abbey of Gethsemani. Rosemary Radford Reuther was a professor of historical theology at Howard University. In a passage on their correspondence she notes, "I see Thomas Merton and myself somewhat like two ships that happened to pass each other on our respective journeys. For a brief moment we turned our searchlights on each other with blazing intensity." They write intelligently about Christianity, the social issues of the day, poverty, racism, evil, and ecumenism.