Dianne Aprile is an award-winning journalist who worked for the Louisville Courier-Journal for more than 20 years. In this accessible and edifying account of a week at the Abbey of Gethsemani, she provides a salutary overview of the benefits of taking time to refresh mind, body, and soul in a milieu where solitude and silence prevail. This Trappist monastery in central Kentucky, of course, was the home of the late Thomas Merton. As of the writing of this book, it has sixty-five monks and is known for its farm products of cheese, fruitcake, and Kentucky bourbon fudge.

While monastic vocations have declined over the past three decades, the number of people attending retreats at monasteries has increased dramatically. These places exist as signs of God's love in the world, and Aprile does a fine job covering their virtues. There are chapters on the Abbey of Gethsemani as as a respite from the harried world, a space of liberty, a milieu for monks and others to groom their spirits, a community of believers, and an environment where hospitality, solitude and workaday obligations are sacred options. Aprile concludes this helpful resource with a listing of monasteries throughout North America that receive visitors.