At the age of
forty-five, unfit and overweight, Clark Berge, a professed Franciscan friar,
took up running. In his younger life he had struggled with alcoholism and
with his sexual identity. Running became cathartic not just for his body, but
for making peace with the lingering shame of a troubled past, facing
unresolved questions and coming to a fuller acceptance of who he was.
As the elected leader of a worldwide religious community, Clark had the
opportunity to run in widely differing urban and wild places – from the
English countryside to a South African shantytown to remote Pacific islands.
His running adventures opened up larger spiritual insights into the nature of
religious life, social activism, contemplation, life on the margins, solitude
and community, fear and fortitude, simplicity and living in harmony with
creation.
This unique memoir of running and religion explores Christian spirituality
with a disarming honesty and depth. |