Sue Monk Kidd

Sue Monk Kidd is an American novelist.

Sue Monk Kidd

Sue Monk Kidd

Sue Monk Kidd (1948– ) has written seven books and is best known for her novel, The Secret Life of Bees (Viking, 2002), which spent more than two years on the New York Times’ bestseller list. It sold over six million copies and was adapted for the stage and film. Kidd graduated from Texas Christian University in 1970 with a BS in nursing and also took writing courses at Emory University and Anderson University. She was influenced by the writings of Thomas Merton and her first two books were spiritual memoirs. Like her first, her second novel—The Mermaid Chair—was also incredibly well-received. Among her awards and acclaims are a Poet & Writers Award and a 2005 Quill Award. She lives in Southwest Florida with her husband.

cover image of the book New Seeds of Contemplation

New Seeds of Contemplation

by Thomas Merton

With a contribution by Sue Monk Kidd

New Seeds of Contemplation is one of Thomas Merton’s most widely read and best-loved books. Christians and non-Christians alike have joined in praising it as a notable successor in the meditative tradition of St. John of the Cross, The Cloud of Unknowing, and the medieval mystics, and some have compared Merton’s reflections to those of Thoreau. New Seeds of Contemplation seeks to awaken the dormant inner depths of the spirit so long neglected by Western man, to nurture a deeply contemplative and mystical dimension in our lives. For Merton, “Every moment and every event in every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because men are not prepared to receive them: for such seeds as these cannot spring up anywhere except in the soil of freedom, spontaneity and love.”

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