In 1972, a young Franciscan friar named Murray Bodo wrote a unique book about the life of St. Francis of Assisi. Francis: The Journey and the Dream offered readers a unique combination of lyrical prose and brief, absorbing vignettes that inspired hundreds of thousands of people all over the world to contemplate the life of the famous saint and see him in a new way. Fifty years and over 200,000 copies later, this book still captivates people everywhere, and Fr. Bodo is still writing about St. Francis and the Franciscan way of life. His poetic style continues to draw readers in, and he himself continues to gaze in wonder at the saint who worked nearly his entire life to rebuild the church. This special anniversary edition includes a new preface in which Fr. Bodo reflects on a half century spent immersed in the Franciscan way.

Through the Year with Francis of Assisi contains 365 selections drawn from the sayings and writings of Francis as well as from stories about him. These excerpts constitute a personal "day book" for year-round reflection.

John Michael Talbot's Reflections on St. Francis offers readers an accessible entrance into the Rule and Testament of St. Francis of Assisi. Talbot's reflections shed light on Francis as a saint, a founder, and a reformer. Drawing on his own experience as the founder of The Brothers and Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Hermitage, an integrated monastic community of celibates, singles, and families, Talbot provides unique observations on how Francis's life and the Franciscan tradition can be a source of inspiration for those of all states of life even today. These meditations allow readers to contemplate the ways in which prayer, community, and simplicity can be integrated into their own lives while also giving readers Talbot's distinct interpretation of Francis's work.

Following up on Francis: The Journey and the Dream, Murray Bodo offers a maturing of his own friar's spirituality in this dramatic storytelling of Francis' close connection and relationship with Jesus. Here we see a multi-dimensional, yet internal Francis as the ultimate disciple of Jesus: Francis as sufferer, in the wilderness, as itinerant, as misunderstood, in prayer, as teacher, as lover and protector of the poor, in authority while subject to God's authority, in community, as healer, as wounded.

A refreshing book of Christian stories, each accompanied by a contemporary moral or lesson, and each conveying universal, continuing truths to help readers deal with the demands of a materialistic world.

"I recommend this book strongly to anyone serious about understanding Francis of Assisi. I admire the clarity and brevity of the writing. With decisiveness, Thompson cuts through the conflicting medieval accounts of each event in Francis' life, adjusts for the hagiographers' spin and creates a credible chronology out of the blurry dates. His knowledge of medieval Italy allows him to provide insightful explanations of the legal, liturgical, and ecclesiastical practices of the time."—Paul Moses, America Among the most beloved saints in the Catholic tradition, Francis of Assisi (c. 1181–1226) is popularly remembered for his dedication to poverty, his love of animals and nature, and his desire to follow perfectly the teachings and example of Christ. During his lifetime and after his death, followers collected, for their own purposes, numerous stories, anecdotes, and reports about Francis. As a result, the man himself and his own concerns became lost in legend. In this authoritative and engaging new biography, Augustine Thompson, O.P., sifts through the surviving evidence for the life of Francis using modern historical methods. The result is a complex yet sympathetic portrait of the man and the saint. Francis emerges from this account as very much a typical thirteenth-century Italian layman, but one who, when faced with unexpected crises in his personal life, made decisions so radical that they challenge his own society—and ours. Unlike the saint of legend, this Francis never had a unique divine inspiration to provide him with rules for following the teachings of Jesus. Rather, he spent his life reacting to unexpected challenges, before which he often found himself unprepared and uncertain. The Francis who emerges here is both more complex and more conflicted than that of older biographies. His famed devotion to poverty is found to be more nuanced than expected, perhaps not even his principal spiritual concern. Thompson revisits events small and large in Francis's life, including his troubled relations with his father, his contacts with Clare of Assisi, his encounter with the Muslim sultan, and his receiving the Stigmata, to uncover the man behind the legends and popular images. A tour de force of historical research and biographical writing, Francis of Assisi: A New Biography is divided into two complementary parts—a stand alone biographical narrative and a close, annotated examination of the historical sources about Francis. Taken together, the narrative and the survey of the sources provide a much-needed fresh perspective on this iconic figure. "As I have worked on this biography," Thompson writes, "my respect for Francis and his vision has increased, and I hope that this book will speak to modern people, believers and unbelievers alike, and that the Francis I have come to know will have something to say to them today."

A Clinician’s Guide to Dream Therapy demystifies the process of working with dreams by providing both a grounding in the current science of dreaming as well as a simple, practical approach to clinical dream work. In addition to a survey of the current science and neuroscience of dreaming, this book includes clinical examples of specific techniques with detailed transcripts and follow-up commentary. Chapters cover how to work with PTSD nightmares and how to use experiential dreamwork techniques drawn from current neuroscience to engender lasting change. Readers will be able to discuss their clients’ dream material with confidence, armed with an approach that helps them collaboratively tap into the inherent power for change found in every dream. Backed by research, common factors analysis and neuroscience, the approaches described in this book provide a clear map for clinicians and others interested in unlocking the healing power inherent in dreams.