What is the author's tone in The Sacred Journey; a Memoir of Early Days by Frederick Buechner?

The book has a sort of exploratory tone, encouraging the reader to explore Frederick's life. Freddy lives through some tragedy and some wonderful things, and in his youth, he stumbles around trying to make sense of the world. Early on, he talks about how he feels a sense of longing, of searching for something, but he does not know what.