The Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault, Ph.D., lives in British Columbia, where she divides her time between solitude and her role as resident teacher for the Contemplative Society. During the past two decades, she has visited, studied, and taught in Benedictine monasteries throughout the United States and Canada, while earning her living variously as a college professor, medievalist, editor, and parish priest. She is an oblate of New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, California, and a past fellow of the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. She is the author of many articles and audiotapes on the spiritual life and is an internationally known retreat leader. Her latest book is Mystical Hope.