John J. Fitzgerald addresses here one of life's enduring questions - how to achieve personal fulfilment and whether we can do so through ethical conduct. He focuses on two significant 20th-century theologians: Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Pope John Paul II, seeing both as fitting dialogue partners - given the former's influence on the Second Vatican Council's deliberations on the Jews, and the latter's groundbreaking overtures to the Jews in the wake of his experiences in Poland before and during World War II. Fitzgerald demonstrates that Heschel and John Paul II generally suggest that doing good leads us toward various components of personal fulfilment, such as happiness, meaning of life, and freedom. There are, however, some key differences between the two theologians - John Paul II emphasizes the relationship between acting well and attaining eternal life, whereas Heschel wrestles more openly with the possibility that religious commitment ultimately involves anxiety and sadness.
By examining historical and contemporary analyses, such as the work of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, the philosopher Peter Singer, and the field of positive psychology, Fitzgerald builds a narrative that shows the promise and limitations of Heschel's and John Paul II views.