Talking of Michelangelo
A birthday retreat in France. A crisis of faith he never saw coming.
Paperback · $18.95 · Ships from Sophia Institute Press
Are you satisfied with your current level of Catholic commitment?
Are you confident you’re giving God your best effort?
Are you using your gifts to the degree God expects of you?
If you died tonight, would you hear “Well done, good and faithful servant”?
Peter Giersch was comfortable in his faith — to the degree he thought about it. Then he flew to France to mark his 40th birthday, and suddenly he wasn’t comfortable anymore.
In the room the women come and go, talking of Michelangelo.T.S. Eliot · “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
We talk of Michelangelo. We rarely talk of God.
Eliot’s famous line captures the comfortable murmur of cultured people who admire the surface of greatness — but never dare the deeper questions. They talk of Michelangelo. They do not wrestle with what he was pointing at.
That was Peter Giersch’s faith, too: admired, discussed, kept at a safe and tasteful distance. This is a book for everyone who has been content to talk of Michelangelo — and senses it might finally be time for something more.
For anyone who’s wondered where God is hiding in modern life.
The comfortable Catholic
You go to Mass. You’d call your faith solid. And somewhere underneath, you suspect “fine” isn’t quite what God asked of you. This book names that feeling — and follows it all the way down.
The honest doubter
You don’t want pat answers about sin, suffering, sex, or death. You want someone willing to ask the hard questions out loud. Giersch does — without flinching, and without losing hope.
The literary reader
You love a memoir as good as the questions it asks. Vivid, funny, unfiltered — written in the spirit of Salinger and Lewis, for readers who’d buy it on the strength of the prose alone.
Part travelogue. Part confession.
Unlike anything else on the shelf.
From the bustling streets of Paris to a secluded Benedictine monastery in Burgundy, Giersch blends vivid storytelling with unfiltered honesty. What begins as a simple getaway becomes an Ignatian retreat that turns, without warning, into a genuine dark night of the soul.
What he finds on the other side is not the God he expected — but one far more patient, creative, and mischievously loving than he ever imagined.
One man. One retreat. Four turns he never saw coming.
Paris
A carefree, worldly birthday trip — faith worn lightly, like a good coat.
Burgundy
A secluded monastery, silence, and the slow stripping away of easy assumptions.
The Dark Night
A crisis that threatens the very foundations of his faith — sin, suffering, mortality.
The Turn
Clarity in the questions, and joy in the answers — relentlessly, unexpectedly hopeful.
“Anyone who wants to know why I have such deep respect for the Catholic tradition needs only to read this book. Profoundly literary, devotional, and compelling — a gorgeous memoir.”Eric MetaxasNew York Times bestselling author of Bonhoeffer; host of Socrates in the City
“At once a traveling narrative, a philosophical meditation, and a substantive spiritual examination. Giersch writes with a literate, reflective voice that invites the reader to grapple with deeper questions we instinctively sense but rarely confront.”
“Giersch is the consummate storyteller. We begin in humble Milwaukee, pass through the historical streets of Paris, and end in battle — in a Benedictine monastery where we glimpse the fires of Hell and a foretaste of Heaven. A great read that will certainly leave you changed.”
“Transcends the bounds of a typical memoir, offering deep insight into modern man’s tendency to delude himself. For anyone looking to engage modern culture from a faithful perspective, this will prove a trusty handbook.”
“This book does not disappoint. As you read Peter Giersch’s tale about his search for deeper meaning, you may even recognize your own personal struggles in the story.”
Peter Giersch
Peter Giersch has had a varied career in business, academia, and the arts. After a stint as a teacher and nonprofit executive, he founded Cathedral Consulting Group and grew it into a multinational, multimillion-dollar management consulting firm. Today he is founder and CEO of the Giersch Group and the author of several Catholic devotional books, including Day by Day with the Catechism. A former member of the board of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, he makes music with his children under the name Giersch At Last. Peter lives near Milwaukee with his wife of more than thirty years and whichever of his five children happens to be home.
Get Your Copy of Talking of Michelangelo
Step into a story where travelogue, philosophy, and faith collide — brutally honest, uproariously funny, and relentlessly hopeful.
Ships directly from Sophia Institute Press.