Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul

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Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul, by Tony Hendra

Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul (2004) is a memoir written by Tony Hendra, an English humorist and satirist. It was on the New York Times Best Seller list for many weeks.

[edit] Plot summary

When Hendra was 14, he had an affair with a married woman. When her husband, a devout Catholic, discovered them in each others' arms, he took Hendra on a trip to Quarr Abbey, a monastery on the Isle of Wight off the coast of England. Hendra, expecting to be disciplined, was surprised when a "cartoonish" monk, Father Joseph Warrilow, instead treated him kindly. Hendra fell in love with Quarr and decided to become a monk.

When Hendra reached the age of eighteen and could legally begin his time at Quarr, Father Joe found out that Hendra had received a scholarship to Cambridge University, and he urged Hendra to first attend college and obtain a degree before he could be admitted to the monastery.

While at Cambridge, Hendra fell in love and married. Though unable to become a monk, he continued to visit Father Joe for more than 40 years, until Father Joe's death on April 27, 1998.