Kathleen Norris reveals that the gap in her career, following the phenomenal impact of The Cloister Walk and Amazing Grace, was due to the death of her husband and to acedia, a profound form of apathy. Similar to depression, but different in that depression is a medical condition, acedia was originally counted among the “eight bad thoughts,” but the term fell out of use. Norris believes it is time to reclaim it. Delving into early Christian texts and illuminating the wisdom of the monastic tradition, she presents the history of acedia and chronicles her own battles with this particular ailment.