The title of this booklet and its inclusion in a series based on the works of Thomas Merton suggest that it is about writing a journal. In fact, the theme is the book of life, and our "writing" is our lived testimony of love for God, others, ourselves, and creation. The theme is amplified with session titles such as Writing a Holy Sentence Day after Day. Each session contains background on the texts, excerpts from the works of Merton and "another voice," and reflection questions that lead us to reflect on our own spiritual growth.

Our Life's Cast of Characters, for example, is about all those who have blessed or cursed us and our own "company of saints." The Merton selection is taken from an early journal, Run to the Mountain, in which he expresses gratitude to those who prayed for him over the years.

The session entitled "Writing the Testament Our Hearts Speak" refers to Merton's 26 years of journal writing and his admission that "I have always wanted to write about everything." The other voice here is Ira Progoff, an American psychotherapist who developed the Intensive Journal Method. His selection deals with the "vast and self-replenishing" resources of the human spirit, capable of drawing additional spiritual scriptures out of the depth of itself. He believed that we may be called to contribute to the extension of old scriptures "as part of the further qualitative evolution of our species."

Writing Yourself into the Book of Life is the sixth of eight planned booklets in Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton, an excellent small-group series. Each includes an introduction to the series; background on Merton and contemplative living; guidelines for contemplative dialogue; eight small-group sessions; and closing prayers.