Teresa of �vila (1515�1582), the Spanish Carmelite nun and mystic, is one of the most beloved figures of the Catholic faith�with a broad appeal among Christians and non-Christians alike. Her texts of spiritual instruction�such as The Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection�balance mysticism with a kind of amiable practicality and are perennial classics. Her spiritual autobiography, which she called �The Book of My Life,� was written at the height of her influence and at the direction of the infamous Spanish Inquisition, to spell out her teaching for them. Teresa�s autobiography includes her lively early life (she was the last person anyone would have expected to become a nun), her first halfhearted attempts at monastic life, and her eventual conversion to an existence consumed with passion for God. She goes on to talk of her visionary experiences and offers insightful interpretations of them. Teresa of �vila is a remarkable record of someone struggling to put words to the ineffable�and it is imbued with Teresa�s great and generous spirit.