Walking on a Rolling Deck: Life on the Ark By Kathleen C. Berken; Foreword Jean Vanier

"Kathy puts us right on the deck with her by letting us experience life in a L'Arche community. She shows us both the ways she has grown and the lessons she has learned from the core group at The Arch. She frankly reveals her own shortcomings and challenges while serving not simple folks who are continually grateful, but real people dealing with their own problems, concerns, and challenges. She draws from her experiences important spiritual lessons and insights about what it means to be a Christian. We can be grateful that Kathy chose to share her life with a L'Arche community and with us."
-Anton Staley, Former editor of The Compass

"In looking in the mirror herself, Kathy turns it on us. We're not as strong and whole as the image we portray. In a gentle slap on the cheek, reminiscent of Confirmation (pre-Vatican II), she interrupts our comfortability. The Divine Mystery is revealed. These stories and reflections invite us to accept our brokenness and be healed by the presence of God which awaits us behind a thousand disguises that Christ wears."
-Leland D. Nagel, Executive Director for the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership (NCCL), Washington, DC

About the Book | Editorial Reviews

"Walking on a Rolling Deck is highly recommended for Christian readers and anyone seeking to quietly contemplate the mystery of God that permeates even the most mundane aspects of daily life."
- Midwest Book Review

"Walking on a Rolling Deck is a fascinating account of one person's efforts at living the Beatitudes. . . . It's a story not to be missed."
- The Compass

"Kathy Berken writes movingly and candidly about living in community with adults with cognitive disabilities . . . Walking on a Rolling Deck is a memorable read. I, for one, am grateful that God called Berken to serve on his Ark."
- The Catholic Messenger

"A powerful story of eventually looking for love at all the right places! L'Arche is a community of simplicity, faith, and happiness embedded inside a world growing ever more falsely-sophisticated, unable to find its God, and incapable of experiencing the simple joys of living. Kathy Berken, a journalist now living inside the community, takes us inside an alternative world, but without false sentiment or naïve romanticism. If your search for love has come up empty too many times, you need to read this book. This is a story of being found."
- Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, President, Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas

"Upon reading Kathleen Berken's Walking on a Rolling Deck, the word realistic comes to mind. Here are real people in mutual relationships struggling to find meaning and to experience hope. In a world of crass consumerism and blatant individualism, it is important to hear another story of compassionate service."
-Bishop Robert Morneau, Auxiliary Bishop of Green Bay, Pastor of Resurrection Parish