I first encountered the writings of Jim Forest in 1969, when I picked up a pamphlet at the American Friends Service Committee bookstore in Seattle entitled “Catholics and Conscientious Objection.” It had been produced by the Catholic Peace Fellowship. I was preparing my defense before the draft board in my application for conscientious objector status during the Vietnam War. (The other booklet I picked up that day was by Thomas Merton.)
I was not a Roman Catholic, but I’d recently had a “born again” experience and had gotten involved in the Jesus People Movement in Washington State. I was interested in learning about the Christian roots of pacifism, and Forest’s booklet was packed full of quotes from the Early Church Fathers. Thanks to his information, I was granted CO status.
Fast forward 30 years. My spiritual journey took me in and out of various denominations, until I discovered the Eastern Orthodox Church. In the bookstore of the parish that became my new church home, I encountered several books by Jim Forest. It took me a while to realize it was the same person, and that he, too, had become Orthodox and had started a new organization called the Orthodox Peace Fellowship.
Over the past twenty years I’ve read several books by Jim. In many of these books he mentions his friends and mentors, including Dorothy Day, of the New York based Catholic Worker (and who has been nominated for canonization in the Roman Catholic Church), Thomas Merton, the well-known Catholic monk, author and poet, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk and Zen master, and Daniel Berrigan, radical Roman Catholic priest and peace activist.
Because Jim Forest’s life intersects with these and other leaders of the 60s peace movement and beyond, many people (including myself) have been urging him to write his own memoirs. “Writing Straight with Crooked Lines,” just released in 2020, is the incredible result.
Because Jim has been writing his whole life, starting with journalism in high school, his writing style is very readable. I devoured this volume in just a few days. While bits and pieces of Jim’s story get woven into the narratives written about the others mentioned above, his own life is definitely worthy of consideration.
He was child of American Communists in the 1930s. After his parents divorced, he shuttled back and forth across the country several times between parents, before dropping out of high school and joining the Navy. There he had a profound spiritual experience while watching the film, “The Nun’s Story,” featuring Audrey Hepburn, and joined the Roman Catholic Church. When en route to visit a monastery, he picked up the book, “The Seven Storey Mountain,” by Thomas Merton, which deeply moved him. After he realized that his meteorological work with the Navy helped support the disastrous Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in 1961, he had a crisis of conscience, and was eventually discharged from the Navy as a conscientious objector.
From there he got involved in Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker movement in New York City. This eventually led him to start the Catholic Peace Fellowship, to help young Catholics (and eventually Protestants like me) to learn about the peace teachings of Jesus and how to apply for CO status while the Vietnam War escalated.
Through his work he had the opportunity to meet Thich Nhat Hanh, who at the time was an unknown in this country. He was invited to the United States by peace groups to help Americans get to know the people and culture of Vietnam. Jim was given the opportunity to be his chauffeur (and essentially tour manager) for Hanh across the country, during which time they became close friends.
Jim’s memoir is a warts-and-all story, including his honest portrayal of three failed marriages due to his zeal for social and peace activism, which meant time away from home (including jail time for his involvement in burning draft records in Milwaukee).
In 1976, he was asked to lead the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, an inter-faith peace group. Under his guidance the headquarters moved to Alkmaar, the Netherlands, a country that proved to be more hospitable for this organization. After leading this organization for many years, he and his fourth wife, Nancy, decided to become freelance writers (she primarily a translator of titles from Dutch into English).
While working with Dorothy Day back in the 60s, she had introduced him to the Orthodox Church and encouraged him to read books by authors such as Dostoyevsky. While with the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Europe, Jim had many opportunities to interact with the Russian Orthodox Church and decided to write a book about it before the end of the Cold War. His experiences in the Orthodox churches in Russia left a big impression on him in the way he experienced liturgy, prayer, singing and the people.
Back in Holland, in 1987, he was invited to attend the Russian Orthodox St. Nicholas Cathedral in Amsterdam, and Jim and Nancy decided that they had found their new spiritual home.
This narrative has many layers that are often interwoven. It gives a glimpse into the life of a very complex person who lived during a challenging time in American, and world, history. It is thought-provoking, spiritual, historical, sometimes theological, sometimes radical, but always with a desire for peace, within oneself, with others, between races, nations and even religions.
Jim doesn’t like to call himself a Christian. Instead he says he is “attempting” to be a Christian. He doesn’t hide his personal shortcomings in this book, but he also shows that he desires to be guided by the teachings and person of Christ.
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Peacemaking does not have to be at the expense of tradition or rootedness
I first encountered Jim through the Orthodox Peace Fellowship. I sent an email to the listed secretary on the website asking many questions around social justice, peace, and the Eastern Orthodox church. Jim generously answered all my questions and then some, and neither did he did tire of my follow up questions. Reading his memoir felt a lot like sitting with him on a bench in Alkmaar sharing experiences, straightforward and rich. Jim’s life and spirit are a beautiful example of how one can be both fully rooted in a tradition and also be engaged and open, yet hospitable others rooted elsewhere. Merton certainly was an example of this. I can remember Jim telling a story of the Dalai Lama's comment at the grave of Merton, “when I think of Merton I think of Christ and when I think of Christ I think of Merton”. Jims shows us tolerance, empathy and dialogue does not have to be at the expense of personal identity, tradition or rootedness. His lifelong relationship with Thich Nhat Hanh is such a beautiful example of this. There is a way to be both fully ourselves and at peace with others, even our enemies. I am grateful to Jim for taking the time to recount the long arc of his profound journey of faithfully struggling for peace.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2021Format: Paperback
I first encountered Jim through the Orthodox Peace Fellowship. I sent an email to the listed secretary on the website asking many questions around social justice, peace, and the Eastern Orthodox church. Jim generously answered all my questions and then some, and neither did he did tire of my follow up questions. Reading his memoir felt a lot like sitting with him on a bench in Alkmaar sharing experiences, straightforward and rich.
Peacemaking does not have to be at the expense of tradition or rootedness
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2021
Jim’s life and spirit are a beautiful example of how one can be both fully rooted in a tradition and also be engaged and open, yet hospitable others rooted elsewhere. Merton certainly was an example of this. I can remember Jim telling a story of the Dalai Lama's comment at the grave of Merton, “when I think of Merton I think of Christ and when I think of Christ I think of Merton”. Jims shows us tolerance, empathy and dialogue does not have to be at the expense of personal identity, tradition or rootedness. His lifelong relationship with Thich Nhat Hanh is such a beautiful example of this. There is a way to be both fully ourselves and at peace with others, even our enemies. I am grateful to Jim for taking the time to recount the long arc of his profound journey of faithfully struggling for peace.
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Top reviews from other countries
- Larry from West SussexReviewed in the United Kingdom on June 5, 2021
Peacemaker Extraordinary!
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