This book presents a discussion that dares to examine the who, what, why, and how of us. It is not a difficult read as it is presented as a dialogue between two searchers, savants in their own fields, those of medicine/science and of theology/philosophy. It does, however, pose a challenge to think as the dialogue unfolds.

You see, on the one hand, we can see ourselves as a blob of flesh, even a sophisticated fungus that lives as a complicated interaction of chemicals for a limited time. We are born, we interact with our environment at a variety of levels, and we die.

On the other hand, we think, individually and invisibly. We act out our thoughts and impact the world of things and others. We want to see ourselves as more than the blob of flesh but we do not know where to look, why it is important to look, and how to use that information if and when we get it.

In this book, the author attempts to tackle that apparently impossible task, not by offering personally derived advice, but by analyzing and examining the components and then putting them together with greater insight. It uses an easily followed dialogue that dissects science, philosophy, modern medicine, history, and theology to achieve this end. As a result, though the topics discussed may seem, at first glance to be a difficult undertaking, that is only because they examine conditions we have not included in our regular life experiences. As we contemplate them, however, they will take what at first appears to be unnecessary information and make it an integral part of our vision and understanding.

The important distinction in the way it deals with youth is that it encourages the reader to see that a youth who is engaged in unhealthy behaviour or experiencing unhealthy moods, may not be sick, or bad, or mentally disturbed, but is just insufficiently enlightened to have and believe in the power of the existential self. This can be easily reversed through invited engagement.

The book helps engage the reader – youth, parent, teacher, or interested adult – by defining a purpose that can awaken a desire to build self, not just seek physical comfort and survival. The intent is to prove, through science, that the mind is not just a function of the body but is a real entity that can grow and cannot be destroyed. Our only responsibility is to grow ourselves. The path we follow determines our behaviour, not the reverse.