The book tells the story of the lives of ten very unique people from the recent past. Each chapter is self-contained, enabling the reader to begin anywhere he/she likes. The reader might choose to read the spiritual odyssey of any of the characters and ponder their journeys of joy, humour, searching, suffering, struggle and their living out the cost of Christian discipleship in very different ways.
Each of the characters showed immense courage and daring in their pursuit of Christ. We witness Edith Stein's struggle with her Jewish family when she decides to become a Roman Catholic and then a Carmelite nun. Both Edith Stein and Dietrich Bonhoeffer became victims of the Nazi regime in Germany and ultimately of the concentration camps. Popes John XXIII and Paul VI led the Church through Vatican II. Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, Pedro Arrupe and Teresa of Calcutta had a particular care for the poor. Thomas Merton and Roger of Taize were devoted to inter-religious dialogue. These are only some aspects of their very rich lives of service. Each chapter will reveal much more.