“It may just change you.”

“In her spiritual memoir Atchison Blue, Judith Valente does something rare. By revealing her flawed spiritual quest, she allows us to connect more deeply with our own. Nuns, silence, family feuds, and death change Valente, allowing her ‘conversion of life’ to whisper eternal secrets that nudge us toward our own conversations. Atchison Blue will uplift you, challenge you, and even make you laugh. But most of all, it may just change you.”

Edward Beck
Author of God Underneath

“I could not put this book down.”

“Highly personal, yet quintessentially universal, Judith Valente's spiritual quest in Atchison Blue is absolutely riveting. Memorable not just for her journey, but also for how she writes of it—with the beautiful detailing of a poet and the keen exactitude of a journalist—the narrative reverberates in the mind and indelibly permeates the soul. I felt I was in the presence of both purity and grace and could not put this book down.”

Susan Hahn
Author of The Six Granddaughters of Cecil Slaughter

“Compelling in its honesty, overflowing with grace.”

“Not only does Judith Valente capture the simple beauty and serenity of monastic life without idealizing a thing, but she also makes a powerful case for the necessity of Benedictine wisdom in our time. Compelling in its honesty, overflowing with grace, Atchison Blue is a marvelous addition to the spiritual writing genre made famous by Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, and Kathleen Norris.”

Paula Huston
Author of A Season of Mystery

“Quite moving.”

“'Usually I am not too impressed with these kinds of journalistic peeks at monastic life, finding them either too romantic or too cynical. But this account is different. Valente seems to have glimpsed the inner life of this remarkable community. Valente opens herself to our examination, revealing aspects of her spiritual life that she finds seriously deficient. I found this account quite moving and heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to understand the spiritual life more deeply.”

Terrence G. Kardong, O.S.B.
Author of Benedict’s Rule: A Translation and Commentary

“Seldom is ‘spiritual’ reading so readable as it is here!”

“Seldom is ‘spiritual’ reading so readable as it is here! Judith Valente makes her own liminal experience in a monastery attractive, real, and profound for all of us. There will be very few who would not find her journey helpful to their own.”

Richard Rohr, O.F.M.
Center for Action and Contemplation
Albuquerque, New Mexico