A certain mystique has developed around the term 'spiritual direction'. What exactly do we mean by it? Is it undertaken only by clergy and members of religious orders? Does a directpr have to have specific qualifictaions?

Margaret Guenther seeks to de-mystify the art of spiritual direction and she does so by emphasising that her book is written by and for 'amateurs'. Drawing the reader in to specific encounters she has had as a director, she helps us to see that spiritual life is grounded in ordinary, everyday experience, that it can reflect both laughter and tears, struggle and joy.