Poetry, like prayer, should be strong enough to stand up to the dark, hence this collection is subtitled "Illuminating the Dark". The poems in this book have been collected from a lifetime of writing: they progress from spiritual poverty through the dark night of the senses to the celebration of a soul that has found rest. Along the way, this soul wrestles with a Church it has lost faith in, the decline of religion, and ideas of truth and beauty challenged by the modern world. The lone soul journeys through these poems, eventually finding the grace of a community in prayer. Smitten Soul is a frank account of spiritual struggle in the modern world, one that will appeal to anyone who travels towards the light.