title: Run to the Mountain: The Story of a Vocation (The Journals of Thomas Merton, Volume One 1939-1941)
author:  Thomas Merton 
description: This first of seven volumes of Merton's journals consists of writings that predate his entrance into the Trappist monastery of Gethsemani. As the subtitle promises, it is the story of a vocation, and as any complete story of a vocation must be, it is the story of the time in which the vocation was formed. Merton was already one of the most influential spiritual writers of the twentieth century when he died unexpectedly in 1968, and in the more than 25 years since, his influence has continued to grow. This collection is a fascinating personal glimpse into the intellectual and spiritual sources of that influence. Moments of brilliance are intertwined with ordinariness lifted to extraordinary heights by increasingly disciplined reflection. The book will be of particular interest not only to those who seek a greater understanding of Merton, but also to those who seek a greater understanding of spiritual development and the spiritual dimensions of the political developments of this troubled century. <i>Steve Schroeder</i>
zlib_text: [Books by Thomas Merton](../Text/runtothemountain.xhtml#zhead2)
  
  
  [_The Inner
  Experience_](http://ads.harpercollins.com/boba?isbn=9780062245083=&oisbn=9780061753411)
  
  
  [_The Intimate
  Merton_](http://ads.harpercollins.com/boba?isbn=9780061983573=&oisbn=9780061753411)
  
  
  [_Dialogues with
  Silence_](http://ads.harpercollins.com/boba?isbn=9780061743245=&oisbn=9780061753411)
  
  
  [_A Year with Thomas
  Merton_](http://ads.harpercollins.com/boba?isbn=9780061757679=&oisbn=9780061753411)
  
  
  [_The Other Side of the
  Mountain_](http://ads.harpercollins.com/boba?isbn=9780062016782=&oisbn=9780061753411)
  
  
  [_Run to the Mountain (Journals
  I)_](http://ads.harpercollins.com/boba?isbn=9780061753411=&oisbn=9780061753411)
  
  
  [_Entering the Silence (Journals
  II)_](http://ads.harpercollins.com/boba?isbn=9780061741722=&oisbn=9780061753411)
  
  
  [_A Search for Solitude (Journals
  III)_](http://ads.harpercollins.com/boba?isbn=9780061753701=&oisbn=9780061753411)
  
  
  [_Turning Toward the World (Journals
  IV)_](http://ads.harper