Henri Nouwen wisely said, ""The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there."" Jesus has ""been there"" and knows how to lead us out--but first, he just may lead us in. He meets us in the desert and does his best work in us there. We look for an easier way in vain. I myself reluctantly entered the desert and eventually received unimagined gifts there--gifts I didn't ask for, deserve, or want--gifts hidden in such painful loss that I despaired--and yet, looking back now, these ""desert gifts"" were the best thing that ever happened to me. I entered the desert, and years later, found my way out. It's not a new way, it was just new to me. Jewish and Christian sages had been living it for thousands of years. Somehow, in recent generations, we managed to forget it. In this collection I mean to begin to make those riches available to you. I'm hoping that like me, you'll discover something that you didn't know you wanted or needed--and something now you wouldn't give up at any price. ""Wisdom From the Margins is what it says it is. It's that rare collection of readings from the wisest voices, like a menu of gourmet small bites in the quick-fix fast food world where wisdom is made homeless. Each small bite will stay with you throughout the day. If the current American religious landscape is giving you a stomach ache, Wisdom From the Margins is for you."" --Gordon Stewart, producer and co-host of ""Lug Nutzz Radio"" William G. Britton is an ordained minister with twenty years of ministry in the church and fifteen years of ministry to the ""Nones"" and ""Dones""--and to people on the margins. He lives on Long Island. This is his first book.