Somebody has suggested that I write my conversion story. I\u2019m not sure about autobiographies as a genre. It seems to me that you have to assume that a good number or ordinary folks will cough up twenty dollars of their hard earned money just to read all about your life. Isn\u2019t that about tops for egomania?<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, I\u2019m thinking about it, and am reading the great spiritual autobiographies to remind myself what to aim for. So I\u2019m reading Confessions <\/em>by some North African fellow called Augustine, and Seven Story Mountain<\/em> by Merton at the moment. I\u2019m also going to re-read Surprised by Joy<\/em> and Newman\u2019s Apologia.<\/em><\/p>\n The great thing about Merton is that he actually had a pretty interesting life. New Zealand artist father meets American artist mother and they live the bohemian artist life in Europe. The kid scoots back and forth across the Atlantic, has sophisticated friends in London and Paris, goes to private school in England and flunks out of Cambridge. In addition, Merton is not only very smart, but he\u2019s much better read than I will ever be, and it shows. Finally, he\u2019s a very good writer. His style is lucid, passionate, detailed and intellectual without showing off.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll never be able to match him unless I exagerrate.<\/p>\n