Synopsis
In Running to the Mountain, Katz finds a way to
redefine and lend new meaning to his life. He writes, "I
bought a tiny cabin at the very tip of a mountain in a remote
corner of upstate New York and went there by myself. . . . I
went for a lot of different reasons, but mostly, I think, to
try to be a better human."
Armed with
the writings of Trappist monk Thomas Merton, his two faithful
yellow Labradors, and the desire to confront change rather
than simply react to it, Katz departs from his suburban
en-clave (where, as a carpooling father, he is known as
"The Prince of Rides") and heads to a new world.
What he finds is a community where a rodent problem prompts
anyone within earshot at the hardware store to offer advice,
and where the digging of a new well draws every neighbor
within miles to his front lawn. It's also a place where he
can be alone in na-ture, a new discovery for someone whose
"favorite night out is a trip to a bookstore, the pizza
place, and the Sony megaplex." Habitually skeptical
about religion, Katz finds in solitude a chance to consider
the questions that have followed him into middle age: Can one
find spirituality outside of a church, temple, or mosque? Is
it possible to build a rational, moral framework for one's
life amid the complexities of modern life? As Katz restores
his old cabin, lea
rns self-reliance in a lightning storm, and helps a friend
prepare for fatherhood, he gathers newfound knowledge that
will be a source of inspiration and achievement as he returns
to the life he left behind.
"It is
absolutely impossible," Merton wrote, "for a man to
live without some kind of faith." Katz adds, "It is
equally impossible to change your life without some."
Running to the Mountain is an unex-pected reading experience
of adventure, humor, contemplation, and growth.
"As notions such as solitude and spirituality have been
made to seem godly, they appear to float high above our
mundane and unheroic experiences. Working long hours for big
companies, rushing kids around to malls and soccer games,
squirreling money away for college and retirement, we want to
read about conversations with God, but don't really expect to
have any ourselves. . . . My hope, coming to the mountain,
was that change, spirituality, and idealism aren't only way
Up There, but also Down Here, in the details of daily
life--family, work, friends, dogs, dreams."
--From
Running to the Mountain
