The Abbey has republished The Orchards of Perseverance by David Perata. Orchards, originally released in 2000, and formerly out of print, is a collection of interviews with nine monks  of Vina conducted in the mid-1990s.

The interviewer, David Perata, aimed to gain insight into the minds and hearts of men who embraced the unique path of a Trappist monk. The book is a fascinating window into the history of New Clairvaux and a charming presentation of the enduring value of monastic life through the personal stories of these monks, two of whom are still at New Clairvaux.

The Second Edition includes an updated Foreward and Afterword.

Here’s an excerpt from Br. John Cullen’s (d. 2013) interview:

I’ve grown being here 36 years. I see things differently now, where my expectations are different than they were when I entered. Not that I’ve been disappointed or disillusioned in anything, it’s just that I have a different point of view. I don’t know if what I’m saying makes any sense at all but it’s an ongoing thing. You can’t define it. It’s not like you were getting a report card or something, or you were getting a measure of your progress…I would say we develop a capacity as we go through life for whatever lies ahead, an openness, and if you’re open to the ultimate that God will give you—whatever that might be—that’s what you will receive and recognize.