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Soon, Augie organized the Self Knowledge Symposium (SKS) to help students “learn how to live a life of

meaning and purpose.” From North Carolina State University, to Duke University, to the University of

North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the SKS student groups spread like wildfire. One of the most memorable

teaching experiences of my life was spending an evening with Augie’s SKS students at the University of

North Carolina. My speaking invitation read: “Share what you have learned about life and God.” A few

months later, three hundred students listened attentively, and then eagerly bombarded me with questions

for the next three hours. At eleven o’clock I finally pled, “I’ve got to go home. I’m too old for this much

intellectual intensity!”

The SKS student groups were the organizational embodiment of Augie’s character: Socrates on steroids.

Now we will meet Brother John: the Trappist monk who spiritually takes Augie by the hand during the

most difficult time of his life; the friend and teacher who leads him on the journey to God and self that

he could never have made on his own. It is Brother John who finally reveals the secret to the meaningful

life that Augie had been searching for all his life.

Augie loves to be born again, and then again, in his constant quest for fresh, life-changing truth. He was

therefore a perfect student for the best of teachers. Now in the same spirit that sent him to my office over

twenty years ago, Augie feels called to share this wisdom with you. From Brother John, Augie learned:

“We must commit to facing our doubts, limitations, and self-contradictions head-on while holding on to

this voice of eternity.” In the eternal silence of Mepkin Abby, Augie heard the still, small voice that leads

us all toward eternal truth. I believe that God was in it.

Kathleen Norris, in her memoir, The Cloister Walk, gave us one of the most appreciative and informative

looks at the special gifts of monastic life. Now, with Brother John, August Turak does the same.

This is a beautiful book beautifully illustrated by Glenn Harrington about a restless, ever-seeking mind

under the influence of a beautiful man of God. Augie was dramatically changed by his encounter with

Brother John, I’m sure that you will be, too.

—Will Willimon

Dr. Willimon, the former Dean of the Duke University Chapel, is a theologian and bishop in the United Methodist Church.

He is currently Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke Divinity School.

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