In his award-winning new collection, one of Hungary's top writers takes us to the edge--where fiction meets journalism

Every human life is made up of the light and the dark, the happy and the sad, the vital and the deadening. How you think about this rhythm of moods makes all the difference. Our lives are filled with emotional tunnels: the loss of a loved one or end of a relationship, aging and illness, career disappointments or just an ongoing sense of dissatisfaction with life. Society tends to view these “dark nights” in clinical terms as obstacles to be overcome as quickly as possible. But Moore shows how honoring these periods of fragility as periods of incubation and positive opportunities to delve the soul’s deepest needs can provide healing and a new understanding of life’s meaning. Dark Nights of the Soul presents these metaphoric dark nights not as the enemy, but as times of transition, occasions to restore yourself, and transforming rites of passage, revealing an uplifting and inspiring new outlook on such topics as: • The healing power of melancholy • The sexual dark night and the mysteries of matrimony • Finding solace during illness and in aging • Anxiety, anger, and temporary Insanities • Linking creativity, spirituality, and emotional struggles • Finding meaning and beauty in the darkness

Now in paperback: a distinguished psychiatrist, spiritual counsellor and bestselling author shows how the dark sides of the spiritual life are a vital ingredient in deep, authentic, healthy spirituality. Gerald G. May, MD, one of the great spiritual teachers and writers of our time, argues that the dark 'shadow' side of the true spiritual life has been trivialised and neglected to our serious detriment. Superficial and naively upbeat spirituality does not heal and enrich the soul. Nor does the other tendency to relegate deep spiritual growth to only mystics and saints. Only the honest, sometimes difficult encounters with what Christian spirituality has called and described in helpful detail as 'the dark night of the soul' can lead to true spiritual wholeness. May emphasises that the dark night is not necessarily a time of suffering and near despair, but a time of deep transition, a search for new orientation when things are clouded and full of mystery. The dark gives depth, dimension and fullness to the spiritual life.

All Christians experience dark nights times when everything seems to be going wrong with them. Some wallow in despair, others learn in darkness. St. John explains the four benefits of the dark night: 1. Delight of peace. 2. Habitual remembrance and thought of God. 3. Cleanness and purity of soul. Practice of the virtues. 4. Practice of the virtues

‘I don’t regret anything, really. I never wanted to live a sensible life … I didn’t want a sensible death either.’ War-torn Africa, a Middle East in crisis, and post-Soviet Eastern Europe form the backdrop to the stories told in The Devil Is a Black Dog — stories based on the extraordinary experiences of acclaimed photojournalist Sándor Jászberényi. From Cairo to the Gaza Strip, from Benghazi to Budapest, his characters contemplate the meaning of home, love, family, and friendship in the face of brutality. Immersed in the societies he reports on and heedless in the face of war and revolution, Jászberényi observes mothers, martyrs, soldiers, and lovers who must confront the extremes of contemporary experience. In spare, evocative prose, he combines fact and fiction to create a profoundly true portrait of the humanity behind the headlines. PRAISE FOR SÁNDOR JÁSZBERÉNYI ‘Unforgettable … an indispensable volume that helps us to remember and regard some of the greatest ruptures of our time.’ The Sydney Morning Herald ‘Extraordinary … Searingly truthful.’ The Independent

The Dark Night of the Soul is deeply excruciating, yet hauntingly beautiful spiritual transformational process. It is what the experts call a partial ego death. During this process, you will feel devastated, isolated, and confused. You won't be able to relate to anyone- not even yourself. It's not a depression, it's an amazing spiritual rite of passage that your soul chose prior to incarnation, in order to ascend into higher levels of consciousness. The entire premise of the Dark Night is to strip you of everything that you know and so that you can re-align with your true brilliant divine essence. That's it. Simply put, to just show you the incredible being that you are and that there is no separation. There is only love and oneness. This journal is absolutely very personal to me and I wanted to be able to help people who are going through this. It's literally the most difficult time (most likely) that you will ever endure, but I promise the rewards when you transcend it make every painful moment worth it. The Dark Night is usually triggered a big emotional event. For me, it was when my mother died. Thirteen months later, after I gave up trying to 'be someone', trying to 'do anything'...trying in any respect, my Dark Night ended. I was done, done, done, done, done. I was 'done' dozens of times before but this was the big 'done'. I didn't care about anything anymore. I was just going to 'be'. I woke up the next morning with the darkness gone, and only light permeated me. I was ecstatic and filled with so much love and joy. Love for life, love for the process, and most importantly- love for myself. That morning, the poem just entered my head and I grabbed a pen and wrote it down. It very accurately describes the immense agonizing inner turmoil of the Dark Night, and it also presents you with the keys to transcend it. It is my greatest dream that this journal will help ease your pain and help you through this leg of your ascension process more easily. This journal addresses the 'big questions' and helps track your emotions. The Dark Night will get you to connect with, bring light and loving awareness to, and heal any shadows. It will tear away your reality and the constructs of your own belief system. It will literally bring you to your knees and to the brink of your own existence. It will rip away your conditioning and leave you in the darkness to find your own inner light. It's so beautiful. You will have the most amazing connection back to yourself and source afterward that you could possibly ever imagine. Trust that there is a higher purpose to this. Your soul is ready. You can do it! You will be so joyful when you do. Also, life is meant to be enjoyed. The Dark Night gets you to relax and enjoy more as well. You will be wanting to treat yourself so kindly and have so much fun. There are trained professionals who specialize in the Dark Night of the Soul that you can seek out. This is the Dark Night of the Soul that St. John of the Cross, Jesus, and Mother Theresa went through.

In this profound and intelligent book, Fiona Robertson acts as companion and guide through the dark night of the soul or spiritual emergency. Capturing the essence of the dark night journey with compassion and clarity, she has created an evocative, inspiring work to give succour to all those who are touched by the dark night.

New stories from a master of American fiction.