Short Trip to the Edge: Where Earth Meets Heaven--A Pilgrimage (Hardcover)

by Scott Cairns (Author)
Key Phrases: ruling monasteries, prayer rope, venerate the icons, Father Iákovos, Holy Mountain, Mount Athos (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
As a former Baptist who passed through the Presbyterian and Episcopal churches on his way to the Orthodox Church, Cairns, a poet and professor of literature and creative writing at the University of Missouri, offers readers a unique and often compelling perspective on life as a pilgrim on Mount Athos, Orthodoxy's holy mountain. Recounting three visits to the mystical bastion of male monasticism and another trip to an Orthodox monastery in Arizona, Cairns writes transparently of his struggles to grow in the life of prayer as he searches, mostly in vain, for a spiritual father who can help him. His accounts of traveling to the various monasteries on Mount Athos are earthy and blessedly not saccharine, yet beautifully accented with descriptions of times when he was particularly moved by an experience of worship. Especially touching is his narrative of the pilgrimage he makes with his son, Benjamin, who affords a fresh perspective on all that his father has previously seen and related. Cairns includes several of his poems, which serve as well-placed enhancements to the text. His open attitude in explaining matters of faith makes this book suitable for a broad audience of readers on spiritual journeys. (Mar.)
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Review
"Enlivening, intelligent, occasionally rich in irony but never cynical..." (Pam Houston, author of Sight Hound )

"Scott Cairns is the ideal guide -- relaxed, invitingly conversational [...] but always evoking the awe that these mysteries deserve." (Frederica Mathewes-Green, author of Facing East )

"A skilled poet on an arduous prayer pilgrimage..." (Eugene Peterson, author of The Message )

"While highly personal, this book provides at the same time a revealing insight into the meaning of Mount Athos." (Kallistos Ware, Bishop of Diokleia, author of The Orthodox Way )

"This is a gem of a book, a lovely, funny, touching account of a poet's search for wisdom..." " (Philip Zaleski, coauthor of Prayer: A History and editor of The Best American Spiritual Writing series )

"[Cairns] opens his heart and ours to the holy mysteries of his Orthodox faith." (Rodger Kamenetz, Professor of English and Religious Studies, Louisiana State University and author of The Jew in the Lotus )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; 1 edition (February 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060843225
• ISBN-13: 978-0060843229
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #395,687 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A glimpse of heaven with earth mixed in, March 3, 2007

By	Gail H. Cramer (Susanville, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Since I am a woman, I cannot personally reap the spiritual benefits of a pilgrimage to Mt. Athos. However, Scott Cairns' account of his visits to the Holy Mountain during his sabbatical year as a professor at the Univ. of Missouri allowed me to vicariously experience what it must be like for an Orthodox convert to go there. He describes the good, the bad, and the ineffably divine of what it is like for a modern-day pilgrim to pay a visit to the heart of Orthodox monasticism. The focus of his pilgrimage is his endeavor to find a spiritual father who can guide him in how to grow closer to God, specifically through the Jesus Prayer.
Cairns deftly interweaves the physical realities and legalities ("Let that be a lesson for somebody") of getting there and getting around while, at the same time, describing his impressions and feelings about finally arriving at The Mountain. His gifts as a poet allow him to find the perfect word to capture his experience or the description of his environment.
There are humorous but instructive moments, such as when he and his friend Nick decide to walk to a monastery rather than ride in a vehicle, or when he describes a pilgrim he calls "the sheriff" who demands that everyone follow the rules while eating. There are also glimpses of the meeting of Heaven and Earth on Mt. Athos as Cairns describes kissing the warm left hand of St. Mary Magdalene, the spice-scented foot of St. Anne (accompanied by "a curious sweetness, a warming of the heart") and the fragrant brow of the skull of St. Andrew.
I was helped in my own spiritual journey by Cairns' complete honesty. He describes the time when he was finally able to have a moment with an elder and feels like he made a mistake by asking the wrong question. He also writes of other situations that an Orthodox convert might find embarrassing when centuries-old protocol has been breached. I could relate.
Cairns finds much guidance towards what he is seeking, and his journey is instructive for anyone who is also trying to draw closer to God. (A similar account is "The Mountain of Silence" by Kyriacos C. Markides," another contemporary writer.) My only disappointment is that this book was not twice as long. Maybe more visits by Cairns to the Holy Mountain will produce a sequel?

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Spiritual and Physical Travelogue, October 8, 2007

By	Chad Davies "Downhill" (Barnesville, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In his book, A Short Trip to the Edge, Scott Cairns takes the reader through a series of journeys to the Orthodox holy site and monastic sanctuary Mt. Athos (with a brief side trip to a monastary in Arizona also detailed). The book is a record of Dr. Cairns' journey on two levels. One aspect of the book describes his travels on a purely physical level; the places he goes, the people he encounters, the things he sees and the obstacles he overcomes. Intertwined within this narrative is also the spiritual journey he takes in order to discover how to live a life of prayer and how this is different than having a prayer life. In both attempts the author sets out to record his authentic journey and his honesty and candor are refreshing as is the simplicity with which he tells his story. Unlike many works on Athonite spiritual life or prayer life in the Orthodox tradition, this book tries to keep things on a level that is accessable to someone who is not a monastic.

The first aspect of the book is relatively successful in conveying the author's experience of gong to a place as different from the rest of the world as Mt. Athos while dealing with the intrusions the world inevitably makes on a place it deems has having something it values, even if it keeps that thing at arm's distance. I found the simply humanity of this part of the narrative refreshing enjoyed Cairn's stories of meeting with other pilgrams on the roads and with sharing coffee and tea with the monks of the mountains. Both brought home the theme that this is a place where heaven and earth intersect in very real and powerful ways.

In weaving in the second aspect, Dr. Cairns attempts to introduce us to the traditions and ideas of Eastern prayer and spirituality. It is here that I found that Cairns' ran into difficulty. The author tries very hard to bring out the important ideas and practices of the Eastern Orthodox church in a way that someone who isn't Orthodox might understand. Unfortunately, he is trying to do it in writing about a culture that is anything but understandable in modern North American terms (especially if one is used to the hyper-rationalistic tendancies found in many expressions of the Christian faith today). He does an admirable job explaining the ideas of nous and hesychia but without some background in Orthodoxy, these explanations are likely confusing and imcomplete. Additionally, there is much assumed of the reader regarding an understanding and acceptance of Orthodox worship and monastic practice. Finally, I hate to say it as I expect it will make me sound too parochial, but there's a point where there is just a bit too much Greek. Perhaps those who are used to worshipping in a Greek Orthodox context will not find the language a bit overwhelming.

With these issues in mind, I still found the book to be lively, engaging and challenging. The prose is lovely and wry and it carries the story lightly when it needs to while never trivializing the struggles the author is undergoing on his journeys both spiritually and logistically. The subject matter asked me to examine my own thoughts about prayer, spiritual mentorship and living my faith in powerful ways. Additionally, I found the authenticity of this travelogue, especially where Cairns' shares his last journey to Mt. Athos with his son, truly moving. I would recommend this book without reservation to those with some background in or understanding of Orthodox spirituality. For those who lack such a background, much of the book will seem strange and unfamiliar and the material may require a good bit more work to access. That having been said , the ideas regarding prayer being something we live are well worth the effort should the reader be willing to undertake the journey.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, January 26, 2008

By	A Reader "ever curious" (WA) - See all my reviews

I too was eager to read this account of Cairn's trip to Mount Athos. The Mountain of Silence by Kyriacos C. Markides had given me a hunger for more. A trip to Mount Athos was exactly what I was looking for. As one of the 'weaker' halves of the human species there was no immediate trip looming in my future, but a vicarious trip, cozily esconced by my wood stove sounded like a great way to pass a few winter evenings. Neurotically self-absorbed is the most accurate description I can find. Since Cairn's is Professor of the English language I was deeply disappointed in use of language and his descriptive phrasing. I suppose he felt that it would establish him as a fellow seeker if he were to use common words though out the text, but I found the descriptions of his daily life, interspersed with words like crap simply pulled the narrative down. I really was looking for a description of the Inner world, both his own, and that of the Monks of Mount Athos. I have been to vigils at Orthodox monastery and know of the beauty of the worship. I was pleased to hear descriptions of the beauty of Mount Athos, but how scarce they were. What I really was looking for in this book was how his inner life was enhanced by the grace and Presence of God he found on the Mountain. To my dismay, this was most noticeable by it's absence.