In this book, Jean Vanier, the founder of l'Arche communities for people with mental disabilities, describes the journey of the heart which is part and parcel of the last stage of life. In this reflective work written when he was 68 years old, the author reveals how the weaker people in society have always taught us about communion and the healing power of love. Vanier helps us see the pain suffered by persons with handicaps who are walled off from others. The challenge is to break down those walls and to reach out to those who yearn for communion. Vanier celebrates openness, mystery, and compassion as keys to becoming all we were meant to be as sons and daughters of God. Real service of others, in his eyes, means accompaniment--to walk with individuals with tenderness.