MENU
SECTIONS
OTHER
CLASSIFIEDS
CONTACT US / FAQ
Advertisement
Brennan Manning, 77, a former Catholic priest who has had a lifelong battle with alcoholism, has written a memoir that reflects on his life with brutal honesty.
1
MORE

Former priest's memoir looks at forgiveness

Former priest's memoir looks at forgiveness

Brennan Manning is a spiritual giant in many people's eyes.

The former Catholic priest has written 15 books, including the best-selling The Ragamuffin Gospel, and has given talks before millions of people around the world.

Away from the podium and the spotlight, however, Mr. Manning fought, and frequently lost, a lifelong battle with alcoholism.

Advertisement

In his new memoir, All Is Grace (David C. Cook, $22.99 hardcover), he reflects on his life -- from growing up in New York during the Depression to his recent years of being frail and requiring live-in help -- with brutal honesty and what appears to be total transparency.

"I have written about experiences with the straight-no-chaser grace of God, battered by wave upon wave of His tender fury," he writes in the introduction.

His own life, he adds, has been "anything but a straight shot, more like a crooked path filled with thorns and crows and vodka. Prone to wander? You bet. I've been a priest, then an ex-priest. Husband, then ex-husband. Amazed crowds one night and lied to friends the next. Drunk for years, sober for a season, then drunk again.… I've been John the Beloved, Peter the coward, and Thomas the doubter all before the waitress brought the check. I've shattered every one of the Ten Commandments six times Tuesday.

"And if you believe that last sentence was for dramatic effect, it wasn't."

Advertisement

Mr. Manning, now 77, and living in New Jersey, said his mother spent 10 years of her childhood in an orphanage, which might explain why she was so aloof.

"She would often come home in the afternoons between jobs and I would run and throw my arms around her, only to be pushed away," he writes.

Mr. Manning dropped out of college at age 18 and joined the Marines in 1952.

After his discharge he used the GI Bill to pay for his education, and while studying journalism at the University of Missouri had a dream that shook him to the core: that he had achieved every material and worldly goal he could imagine, but still wasn't satisfied.

That led to a spiritual journey in search of fulfillment, and Mr. Manning eventually entered a seminary and was ordained a priest in 1963.

His gift for public speaking brought him invitations around the globe, but his personal life continued to be a roller coaster that peaked with spiritual greatness only to plunge into alcoholic valleys. The low point, he said, was passing out drunk and missing his mother's funeral.

His greatest regret, he writes, was his failed marriage to Roslyn, a relationship that started as friendship and eventually led Mr. Manning to abandon the priesthood.

The many ups and downs all pale in light of God's grace, Mr. Manning writes. It doesn't matter how much a person achieves or how much he falls, God still forgives and loves.

John Blase, who helped write All Is Grace, told The Blade in an interview that Mr. Manning was "the repeat prodigal" who, although he often slipped, never gave up and was always able to find redemption in God's grace.

It is a message that can inspire and motivate those who have struggled mightily.

"He was the guy who fell down and got up, then he fell down again and kept getting up, and still was used in some incredible ways by God. Even with all the dismal scenes, it's really a hopeful book," Mr. Blase said.

First Published November 19, 2011, 5:00 a.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS  
Join the Conversation
We value your comments and civil discourse. Click here to review our Commenting Guidelines.
Must Read
Partners
Advertisement
Brennan Manning, 77, a former Catholic priest who has had a lifelong battle with alcoholism, has written a memoir that reflects on his life with brutal honesty.
Advertisement
LATEST ae
Advertisement
Pittsburgh skyline silhouette
TOP
Email a Story