The dark night of the soul

Gerald G. May

Publisher's description: Distinguished psychiatrist, spiritual counselor, and best selling author Gerald G. May argues that the "shadow" side of the spiritual life has been trivialized and neglected to our serious detriment. In The Dark Night of the Soul, Dr. May shows that the dark side is a vital ingredient for deep, authentic, healthy spirituality. Superficial and naively upbeat spirituality does not heal and enrich the soul; nor does our tendency to relegate deep spiritual growth to mystics and saints help us cope with the fullness of what we experience in life. Only honest, sometimes difficult encounters with what Christian spirituality calls "the dark night of the soul" can lead to true spiritual wholeness. May emphasizes that the dark night is not necessarily a time of suffering and despair, but rather one of deep transition, during which our lives are clouded and full of...