This book tells about the joys and struggles of Mother Teresa. It tells about her childhood, how she announced she wanted to be a nun, and about the children of India. She sets up a hospital for injured people, visits lepars and more. This book tells of how Mother Teresa lived, and what she sacrificed. This book is awesome and I recommend it to anyone.

Thirsting for God is full of the down-to-earth, all-loving wisdom of Mother Teresa. An excerpt from her writings, teachings, and speeches is presented for each day of the year with appropriate subject matter for the liturgical season--Advent, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, etc. Through these readings, Mother Teresa shares her orientation towards serving Jesus in the poorest of the poor and doing every little thing with great love. Our whole family from parents to our youngest, a three year-old, has enjoyed beginning the day with these simple stories and thoughts; we find ourselves meditating upon the great wisdom behind them throughout the day. This is a great book for anyone who wants to feel closer to Our Lord in their everyday life! As Mother Teresa says, "If you even stoop to pick up a pin on the floor with love, you do it for Jesus."

The author worked with Mother Teresa for 21 years. Most of the reflections are never before seen quotes from Mother Teresa. The book's readings are well placed and fit the Church seasons. WHAT A GREAT WAY TO START EACH DAY. BTW Fr. Angelo is the head of Mother's Third Order(lay)so he's the real deal not just some guy who did a book on the soon to be saint.

While this book is basically just a collection of previously released works, Anything Mother Teresa has to say is worth an additonal read. It gives some insight into a remarkable human being.

This book is filled with wonderful Mother Teresa thoughts on prayer. It also contains some beautiful prayers that can easily be incorporated in to daily prayer. The collection of thoughts is concise, on point and organized effectively. Mother Teresa never disappoints.

While this book is wonderful, it is not better than "No Greater Love" by Mother Teresa. "No Greater Love" remains my number one book of her wisdom.

Prayer speaks from the heart and when done well, it can bypass our inherent prejudices and resistance. Mother Teresa knew this, and her inspirational words, just as her prayers, transcend any faith position and speak to everyone. Dr. Anthony Stern, in his inspiring book brings this great master of prayer to the average reader. Everything Starts from Prayer presents Mother Teresa's own words in an arrangement both accessible and thought provoking.

As I was reading the book I was struck by the scope and the depth of prayer that the book reveals through Mother Teresa's beautiful and powerful prose. I realized that besides being an incredibly charitable woman, who devoted her life to help the poor and the sick, she was a great master of praying, with inner knowledge and experience that surpass many other spiritual teachers. Dr. Stern arranged Mother Terasa's prayers in a way that illustrates the nature and the process of prayer and illuminates the many variations and subtleties of praying. Mother Teresa addressed many aspects of prayer, from child-like prayer to healing prayer and even to the resistance to prayer. It is particularly instructive to read the way she addressed the special pain and loneliness of modernity. Her insights into the problems of the ailing psyche from a spiritual point of view are most interesting. When talking about the narcissistic self, she tells us that there is no place for spirit where there is only self. Even God cannot put anything into what is already full. (page 54). Unlike some current spiritual ideas, which divorce spirituality from morality, Mother Teresa teaches us that spirituality and morality go hand in hand. It is easy to be proud and harsh and selfish--so easy. But we have been created for better things (page 12).

I recommend this book for anyone who takes prayer seriously, whether new to the practice or experienced. We can all learn a great deal from Mother Teresa and use her experience to further enrich our own prayer lives and learn about our (spiritual) selves. It is a book which should be read not just once, but used repeatedly as a companion to the praying person, a resource that one can refer to when looking for guidance and inspiration.

The bibliography at the end of the volume includes books on prayer from different religious perspectives and the resource list will be useful for those who are searching for in-depth experience of prayer in a monastic setting.

Mark R. Banschick, MD Adjunct Professor, Hebrew Union College

A sweet book which covers the subject of reaching God through prayer. It is stripped of the boundaries of formal religion and gets to the heart of the matter: How to make contact with God,How to pray, Why you should pray and the nature of prayer. Mother Teresa's words are simple but rich, clear and evocative. I will return to this book again and again for guidance. The book is simple but not simplistic. It raises the spirt and guides the soul.

This book is about Mother Teresa and all the work she has done in her life. He states all the foundations that she has created and all the volunteers she has encouraged to help. I have never read a book like this before. It makes you feel like nothing in your life has ever been wrong, nor will anything ever compare to the turmoil that these poor people go through and will always go through. "...As to my heart, I belong entirely to the heart of Jesus." (Page xxvii) This was something that she said at the beginning of the book. That statement amazes me because I don't see how it's possible for someone to devote so much of themselves to just one thing. She showed great dedication to everyone she helped and she probably helped millions of people or at least effected some that she didn't even know. To be known as such a great person must be the best feeling in the world and I could never imagine being that way, but I do admire her. Even thought this book was really great, there were a few things that I would have gone without putting in. There were a few prayers and things that they did daily at each volunteer place that was talked about but could have been avoided. I didn't go away with anything more then I had to beginning with after reading it. I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it to anyone, especially if you are a religious person you'll understand some of the things that go along with prayers and that, that were talked about.

I read this book at a time when I was very broke and feeling very sorry for myself about it. It made me realize how much I really did have - my health, my education, my personal, political and religious freedom - and totally changed my attitude forever about what is important in life. I have since recovered from my economic crisis and have dedicated my life to understanding poverty and doing whatever I can to help the poor break the cycle of poverty in their lives. I am continuously challenged by the example Mother Theresa set with her relationship with God. This book is so easy to read, so uplifting, so inspiring, so much about what's real and true, you've just got to read it. You can't read it and not be affected in a positive way.

Mother Teresa used to threaten me, the way all good people do. I thought she had nothing to say to me (that I wanted to hear anyway) because she would challenge a part of me that didn't want guilt. How could I relate to a non-stop self-denial works machine? Surely, a part of her had to be dead or dying or in denial. I wanted to find out more. In her book, "No Greater Love", I learned that Mother Teresa was a person who saw Jesus in "the distressing disguise" of not only the poor, but the abused and the cruel and the mean and the unloved. For Mother Teresa, response to that person is response to Jesus. ("When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat...") In "A Simple Path", two paths seem to be explored: the simple life path Mother Teresa herself followed, and the simple path the volunteers of the Missionaries of Charity (the order she founded) follow. The exploration of both pathways was, for me, an eye-opener. Here are people who simply minister to needs, and who do not force feed Jesus to the one in need. The paradox is that many who are ministered to end up turning to God...perhaps because they saw a little bit of God in the person who helped. And Mother Teresa's take on finding God? Pray. "If you find it hard to pray," she says, "you can say 'Come Holy Spirit, guide me, protect me, clear out my mind so that I can pray.'" I didn't realize a works machine could teach me so much. A Simple Path, maybe; a simple woman, never. This review may be wordy, but I'd never have enough space to quote the things she said that stopped me dead. Read this book and discover the depth of a woman who is called a saint, and how she happened by the name. I've learned Mother Teresa can teach me something, and I can still eat chocolate and spend money with no serious guilt. Means she said a few things that went beyond coughing up change for the poor. (I only wonder if she could see Jesus in the distressing disguise of a manic four year old.)

Mother Teresa returns to us and she lives in the words she wrote...but even more in the Words she lived....that is what this book is all about and what her life was all about... You do not just speak of God's love in Jesus, about loving the neighbor, you live it with a fullness of life that brings deep and abiding satisfaction. A kind of satisfaction that cannot be bought...but in this book this can be found. Here is where the heart is found... in giving it away. Thanks again to Mother Teresa for continuing to remind us of what brings the Greatest Joy of Heart or life.

This short 149-page book excels at capturing the thoughts of this living saint on such themes as generosity, the love of God, care for others, hunger for God and the privilege of living for Christ.

Captured from her teachings and lecturers to her workers and followers, this wonder gem of a book will put you at Mother's feet.

Used as a devotional it will only incites you to the service of others and deepen your worship of God. For in her own words "Faith is love in action".

This little book comprising of Mother Teresa's thoughts, stories and prayers is a good spiritual guide for inspirational reading and reflection. It is particularly helpful to those who have not been exposed to her work or ideas. According to the content, the book is divided into three parts: Thoughts, Stories and Prayers. The book provides the reader with a good taste of the spiritual legacy of this modern saint. If you are looking for a comprehensive volume of Mother Teresa's spiritual insights and messages for the world, your search will have to continue.

In this wonderful book, Mother Teresa shares her thoughts on a variety of virtues, shares some wonderful stories which give the reader a true sense of her works, and offers a collection of prayers and reflections. An inspiring collection!

If you want encouragement, look no further. Mother Theresa's life has it all. Everything good that is humanly possible this woman nearly possessed. Words are too cheap to tell how valuable and extraordinary her life was.

This book is one of a kind. It is very very inspiring. Mother Teresa has conveyed the ideas of service and brotherhood through her life. Such devotion and love could come only from an ever-shining and divine spirit. I have re-read quite a few chapters of the book and I can say enthusiastically that this book has helped me a lot in spiritual growth and transformation.

As an authorised biography, this status alone bestows upon the tome an added weight of truth and accuracy. However, as Mother Teresa herself always wanted it to be, the book is more on her work than her life. She never wanted the attention to be forcused on herself but rather on the work. As she herself succinctly put it, she is merely a pencil in the hand of God. This book fills us in on the path which took Mother from her childhood in Albania to her days at the Loreto convent to her calling in a calling during her trip to Darjeeling to finally her establishment of the Missionaries of Charity and the result of which we have more than ample proof of now. It provides details on the trials and tribulations she faced and encounterd in the process of her work and how she overcame them with her determination and faith. This book provides the necessary details in mapping out a sketch of Mother's life and work. However fitting this tribute, we must not forget that Mother herself was the actual paradigm of chastity, poverty, obedience and service to the poorest of the poor. Nothing can ever truly introduce us to the scale of the greatness of Mother. Her legendary selflessness and selfishness truly brings us to our knees in shame. This book truly embodies the paragon of love and religion that was Mother. She was the epitome of a modern day Saint. She was a living Saint. May she rest in peace. She is finally at home with God.

This is a powerful book that made me feel what life might be like, day to day, as one of the poorest people on earth. Its accumulation of unsparing detail, and refusal to opt for feel-good resolutions, make a strong impact. Calcutta is simply beyond verbal description, but Lapierre does his best to render it a real and tangible place to the reader.

I gave it only three stars because it has no subtlety, and at times sensationalizes Calcutta's problems. I've always had qualms about novels and films that wring entertainment out of human suffering, but this book usually avoids being such an offender. At times, also, the Indian characters are portrayed with condescension; real street people in Calcutta are a lot less childlike and more like you and me than the naifs Lapierre describes. Besides these, the only flaw was the wooden prose style, which may have been the fault of the English translation.

All in all it is a rich and inspiring testament to the resiliance of the human spirit--not literature, but outstanding fiction/non-fiction. I read it while volunteering in Calcutta, so other readers unfamiliar with the city and its problems might enjoy it more.

This book is a classic. It can change the way you look at life, it will bring out the altruistic being in some. It moved me to tears. City of joy is about how an induvidual hailing from the luxuries of a developed nation undergoes a metamorphoses into a saint after coming in contact with people who are cursed with poverty and squalor. It brings out tthe beauty within you. It tells us how the poorest of the poor come to together when a calamity strikes and put on a brave face even when their destiny offers no respite from the misery.

This book can change you. I being from India can relate to this book as i see glimpses of this pain everyday. Its ubiquitous here. It has made me want to make a difference .This book touches your soul .

This book is a treasure.

In Dominique LaPierre's book, "The City of Joy" we learn of the struggles of every day families trying to survive in the abject poverty of Calcutta, India.

The streets of Calcutta come alive in "The City of Joy" as we read about the struggles of a rickshaw driver and his family and an American priest trying to become accepted into the culture of Calcutta. We learn of the efforts of people like Mother Teresa to help the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, the lepers.

I have not seen the movie based on this book, but if it is half as good as the book , I am sure it is great. "The City of Joy" is a book the explores the depths of the human spirit, the strength of human emotion and the desire of a few good people to help. In all of the glory of his other books, LaPierre scores another hit with "The City of Joy." I recommend this book, you will be a better person for having read it. Plus, a percentage of the profits from the book are donated to the ongoing effort to help the lepers in Calcutta.