Rich in history, humor, and epiphany, Mariani's journal on his spiritual retreat combines a brief life of St. Ignatius with meditations on Jesus' life and His radical gift of love. Mariani also looks unflinchingly at his own transgressions and glories in a sense of renewal that sends him back into the world--and to his family--with a heightened sense of selflessness.

This work provides a portrait of John Berryman, who, by the time of his suicide at the age of 58, had won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. It describes the poet's struggle with alcohol and drugs, his obsession with women and fame, and his friendships with other writers.