This is a journal of an exceptional year that begins in New York City, less than a fortnight after the events of 11 September 2001.Part diary, part yearbook, part notebook recording passing reflections, wry observations, anecdotes, jokes and hearsay, Edmund Campion's journal reads like a conversation with a friend. It offers a slice of time, giving glimpses into a life built around Catholicism, history and literature, and guided by morality and human decency.In a year marked by the advent of 'the war against terrorism', growing fundamentalism, increased protests against Australia's detention centres for refugees, a worldwide crisis of moral authority in the Catholic Church due to the spreading stain of paedophilia, Campion finds much upon which to reflect.Lines of My Life is more than an account of an historic year; it is a window into an engaged life.