"The psyche expects rites of passage that deepen the imagination, open the spiritual eyes, and expand emotional capacities. The inner life expects to be led out, to move from physical growth to sexual activity and learning of love, from naivete to psychological savvy, from innocence to knowledge of life and death," writes Michael Meade in Men and The Water of Life. Since 1981, the author has been leading men's retreats and workshops using African, Celtic, and Central European stories as catalysts for personal transformation and community building. As a scholar of mythology, literature, and ritual, Meade believes that these resources can help men "rediscover doorways to their hearts and the territories of the soul." He shows how in this stout-hearted and soulful book.

Meade uses six ancient stories to explore the multi-dimensional struggle for manhood. He includes personal vignettes from his experiences of growing up in New York City as a gang member and spending a year in prison during the Vietnam war. The author also recounts some of the dramatic happenings he has witnessed at week-long retreats where men have wrestled with their strengths, fears, anger, grief, and joy.

Similar to Clarissa Pinkola-Estes (Women Who Run with The Wolves) in his approach, Meade jumps off from ancient tales heavy with mythological and psychological truth. He starts with two African stories which lead to a consideration of the wounds between fathers and sons. These are followed by a tale about a boy's confrontation with his mother and the spell she puts on him. Men are challenged to deal with the inner feminine as well as the women in their lives. Other stories fall under Meade's rubric of "the intense fires of desire and the stunning waters of surrender." Men are tested by critical encounters with power, aspiration, violence, exile, the fall from grace, ambition, the yearning for beauty, submission, and love.

Men and The Water of Life weds storytelling with deep insights into the male psyche, the adventure of soul-making, and the cultural confusions of our times. Meade's wide-ranging commentary on the importance of initiation rites and the need for a place where individuals can explore "neglected emotional and spiritual lives" is right on target. This book is sure to be savored and discussed again and again by men's groups.