Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Timbedairmius. Time works differently when you're a guard.

That's what Patrick Bringley says of the 10 years he spent as a security guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

He found himself in that job after the death of his brother, which inspired him to leave his office job behind, to find solace among art.

Bringley writes about that experience and all the lessons it brought about in his new memoir,

all the beauty in the world, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and me.

Bringley spoke with NPR host Scott Simon about the book, why he chose to change his

life and even share some pro tips on the best ways to tour the Met. In the U.S., national

security news can feel far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind

closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, helping you understand why distant

events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Patrick Bringley suffered a profound loss and decided to seek shelter in the most beautiful

place he knew. He would spend a decade there as a guard. Let's ask him to read from his new

memoir, All the Beauty in the World, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and me. The mornings are church mouse quiet.

I arrive on post almost a half hour before we open, and there is no one to talk me down to earth.

It's just me and the Rembrandts, just me and the Botticelli's, just me and these vibrant phantoms I can

almost believe are flesh and blood. Patrick Bringley joins us now from

Brooklyn. Thank you so much for being with us. Thank you so much for having me. I want to begin with your

brother, 26 and died of cancer. You were working in events planning at the New Yorker. What do you think

the loss of your brother set off in you?

Well, when I was working at the New Yorker, of course, I was an office job and I had my mind on

...