Sr. Joan Ridley, O.S.B., is a Benedictine Sister of Perpetual Adoration. Based in the Tuscon, Arizona monastery of her congregation, she serves the 23-member community as Sup-prioress and takes care of building maintenance. Prior ministry includes service as a Dominican in southwest Louisiana, where she represented the poor as a Legal Services attorney. This book evolved from a series of articles written for her congregation's bimonthly periodical, Spirit and Life, now in its 105th year of publication.