My Grandfather's House A Genealogy of Doubt and Faith [Paperback]

Finalist,Los Angeles TimesBook Prize for Biography

In the tradition of Augustine'sConfessions, Robert Clark tells the story of his return to the Catholic Church through the prism of the religious history of his ancestors. Intertwining their experiences as Catholics in late-medieval England, as Puritan settlers in 17th Century New England, and as 19th Century New England transcendentalists with his childhood in an Episcopalian boarding school and later conversion to Roman Catholicism, Clark presents not only a memoir but a testament of faith.

Robert Clarkis the author of the novelsIn the Deep MidwinterandMr. White's Confession,as well asRiver of the West,a cultural history of the Columbia River, andThe Solace of Food, a biography of James Beard. He is also the recipient of the Edgar Award for Best Mystery. A native of St. Paul, Minneapolis, he lives in Seattle with his wife and two children.

To revive theconfessiotradition at this moment in our cultural history is no small thing. But that is what Robert Clark has done in this beautiful, captivating memoir. George Weigel, The Washington Post

In this rare work of personal narrative that truly achieves historical significance, Robert Clark's family becomes our own. A fascinating work of history as well as a moving, and often hilarious, account of his own religious struggles,My Grandfather's Houseimmediately presents itself as one of the rare American autobiographies that will endure. Patricia Hampl, author of A Romantic Education

For those not sure what to make of the God question, Clark has given us a rock-solid place . . . to start. Though we might find a different resolution from his, his search parallels our own: how to gain peace, where to find faith, and what to pass on to our children, who will face the same age-old questions in the new millennium. Mary Ann Gwinn, The Seattle Timeslã…