Frank Rose and Bob Maginel provide people seeking spiritual growth and recovery a practical handbook for accomplishing their goals. Recognizing that spiritual growth can be stymied by materialism and external preoccupations, the authors offer tasks and exercises that can be used repeatedly to help tame the "wild beasts," the negative emotions that can control our lives and destroy our relationships with others.

A special feature of the book is the "Reporting on the Task" section at the end of each of the twelve tasks, in which participants who were enrolled in a real-life twelve-week seminar share their struggles in their own words. Their successes and setbacks in applying the tasks to daily life underscore the ongoing nature of the recovery process and remind us that the joy of spiritual growth is linked to enjoying the journey.

Frank Rose received an M.Div. from the Academy of the New Church in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, where he also taught. He has served as pastor to groups in England, Scotland, Wales, Holland, Belgium, France, and Canada in addition to serving at the Sunrise Chapel in Tucson, Arizona, where he co-founded the spiritual growth program upon which this book is based. He is the author of several books, including The Joy of Spiritual Growth (also co-authored with Bob Maginel). Frank and his wife, Louise, currently live in Tucson, Arizona.

Bob Maginel spent twenty-two years in the US Air Force, retiring at the rank of colonel with degrees in management (University of Texas) and science (Air Force Institute of Technology). Following his retirement, he founded Mobility Manufacturing Inc., a maker of powered wheelchairs. He and Frank Rose co-founded the Arizona Spiritual Growth Foundation, and both continue to serve on the board. Maginel currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.