by Curt Knoke (Photographer), J. Patrick Rick (Author) Born from a film project, The Abbey & Me is a non-fiction account of invasion and seizure of a Midwestern Catholic monastery. The narrative chronicles a certain 1975 Native American act of Civil Disobedience and Thirty-Four days of armed occupation in harsh winter conditions. Researched and told by a former cloistered resident and novice-monk, this is a true contemporary, cavalry, Indian, and missionary story of hostages, vigilantes, renegades, and celebrity including the late Marlon Brando facing the Wisconsin National Guard. Author Biography Once upon a time, J. Patrick (Pat) Rick was a Grand Jury defendant, a monk, thought to be a felon but a hemophiliac forever.