Brother John: A Monk, A Pilgrim, and the Purpose of Life

By August Turak

Illustrated by Glenn Harrington

Clovercraft Publishing     2018

48 pages     Spiritual

August Turak is a very successful businessman and entrepreneur. In his book Brother John, he describes a time—a moment—when he experienced a life changing experience at the Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina. It was a simple act of kindness that changed the entire focus of his life. He wrote about the experience for the Templeton Prize competition. It is an annual award granted to a living person who "has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works." He won the competition in 2004 with an essay to answer the question, “What is the purpose of life?”

The essay, telling of his ongoing relationship with the Trappist monks at Mepkin Abbey and especially his brief encounter with Brother John, has become an adult picture book with illustrations by artist Glenn Harrington. Both the writing and the illustrations are profound. It is easy to be distracted by the glorious illustrations and not focus on the power of the words. The book bears several readings, and I feel could be easily read aloud to a spiritual growth class for a meditation hour.

Those of us who have experienced spiritual awakenings can relate to Turak’s search for meaning and his subsequent change of heart and focus. The most important words in the entire growth experience were given to Turak on a piece of paper by his spiritual guide at the abbey, Father Christian. They said, “You would not seek Me if you had not already found Me. And you would not  have found Me if I had not first found you.” This prayer forms the spiritual basis for the entire book and forms the basis for the rest of Turak’s life.

Mepkin Abbey has continuing spiritual growth experiences for those who are searching for life’s meaning. Like Turak, visitors can come for the day or stay for a time at the abbey’s retreat center. The abbey, however, is suffering from the aging of its monks, as is explained in this New York Times article. Profits from this book will go to maintain the abbey.

I cannot stress enough how beautiful this book is. I am making a list of people that I want to share it with, starting with my spiritual sisters for our shared birthday. I am grateful to the publicist for sending it to me. It is a perfect blending of text and illustration. The book is released today.