This book is the result of this search. Stories of her own compelling journey are intersected by those of 24 great women of spirit who guided her through inspiration, or touched her by their personal presence, including: Sufi master, Irina Tweedie; Christian monk, Mother Tessa Bielecki; Zen teacher and anthropologist, Joan Halifax; Hadewijch of Antwerp and the Beguines of medieval Europe; AIDS activist and spiritual teacher, Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati; Artist and writer, Meinrad Craighead; Humanitarian, Dr Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and others.