'Petals and Pebbles' uses facts and stories to talk about situations people face every day. The Author, Elias Dias, uses his pastoral experience and his counselling skills to offer advice to the average reader looking for guideposts in life. The friendly style of the book, together with the glossary and the references, makes it a book that can be read in the comfort of one's home, or for more serious study, or perhaps while commuting to work. The short chapters and the subtitles offer even the casual reader the possibility of browsing or reading just the chapters or sections that need to be read. The book should prove to be an invaluable resource to teachers, preachers, lawyers, social workers, leaders and managers. The book has received warm praise from a lay pastor in Australia, a teacher in Canada, a youth worker in South Africa and a pastor in the Philippines. Many of their comments seem to suggest that the book would appear to talk to them, very much the way that Pope Francis speaks to his audiences across the world.