Alive in the Time of the Monks

What happens when survival is no longer enough?

OVERVIEW

In Alive in the Time of the Monks, Susan Russell blends memoir, spiritual inquiry, and hard-won wisdom into a deeply personal exploration of grief, fear, identity, and awakening. A former Broadway performer, educator, and lifelong seeker, Russell traces a path through family trauma, devastating loss, chronic pain, and profound transformation, asking what becomes possible when we stop reacting to life and begin observing it.

Structured as both story and invitation, Alive in the Time of the Monks challenges readers to examine their own assumptions about suffering, freedom, love, and the stories they carry. By turns fierce, funny, unconventional, and deeply compassionate, Russell's voice offers not easy answers, but a framework for seeing the world—and ourselves—with greater clarity.

For readers of spiritual memoir and transformational nonfiction, Alive in the Time of the Monks is a meditation on what it means to move beyond survival and into a more conscious life.