Another World: A Retreat in the Ozarks

William Claassen
Sheed & Ward (2007)
ISBN 9781580512220
Reviewed by Vicki Landes for Reader Views (2/08)

 

Ever want to get away from your life for awhile?  Need a break from the everyday grind to regroup and evaluate your life?  Author and activist William Claassen has discovered you don’t need an expensive vacation or a laundry list of tourist sites to enjoy your time away.  In fact, you barely need anything.  In his book, “Another World: A Retreat in the Ozarks,” he tells you exactly how.   

“The retreats are not an escape, but rather an opportunity to come face to face with my shadows and with my light.”  Claassen emotionally describes his time at a Missouri monastery, living day-to-day as the Trappist monks do.  Without modern conveniences or annoying tour guides, these getaways bring his life events flooding back to his memory, give his inner soul a voice, and allow him to see his existence in a unique and altered light.  “Each retreat day I peel back yet another layer of consciousness and, in so doing, reach a deeper level of awareness and vulnerability.”

“Another World: A Retreat in the Ozarks” is an expressive account of a lifestyle that most of us don’t even know exists amid our modern society.  Claassen writes in such a way that it places you there while experiencing everything in the monastery – walking outside in the crisp, cool air, sitting in deafening silence on a wooden pew, or hearing the hypnotic chanting and praying.  Each seemingly insignificant action becomes much more fascinating and even spiritual in this setting. 

Author William Claassen is an appealing writer for religion and spirituality book enthusiasts as well as travelers who enjoy finding destinations off the beaten path.  Further, as a Missouri resident I had no idea that a place like this existed in my state; I think other Missourians would find this book – and the abbey itself – to be very intriguing. 

Up before dawn, no room service, and outings consisting of walks in the woods – not what we normally think of when planning a vacation.  But for William Claassen, the daily life at a monastery brings peace of mind and a deeper knowledge of self.  “Another World” is just that – a spiritual journey into a completely different plane of existence.

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