Joseph Girzone retired from the priesthood in 1981 and embarked on a second career as a writer and international speaker. His Joshua series of books made quite a splash around the world with their focus on the presence of a Jesus figure in the contemporary world. In this confessional work, Girzone talks about his spiritual journey as a priest and a Roman Catholic. In one of the many vignettes appearing in the book, Girzone meets an elderly lady from Elyria, Ohio, who tells him:

"Father, the way I size up Christianity is like this: The Catholics worship the Church, the Protestants worship the Bible, and there are darn few who ever get to know Jesus Christ."

Girzone agrees with her and laments the fact that both Catholic and Protestant churches have spent so little time trying to be like Jesus in the modern world. Bible studies abound, but it's another thing altogether to work at putting the gospel into practice. Girzone writes about Jesus:

"What was remarkable about Jesus — and Jesus was the living reflection of God — was that He could pass over the shabby, crude exterior in people's lives and see, deep within, their potential for goodness. Reflecting back to them the goodness He saw in them changed their own image of themselves and inspired them to holiness — not all at once, perhaps, but as the grace of God nurtured them."

Girzone talks about his doubts and the depression he suffered while in seminary and then moves on to the relationship of his faith to Scripture, the mystery of the church, ecumenism, confession, celibacy, sin, and forgiveness. He comes up with a fresh take against capital punishment (see the excerpt) and wonders how the Catholic Church can continue to deny the Eucharist to those who believe in the real presence of Jesus in the sacrament. Girzone is good on grace, and this becomes clear as he describes his 25-year journey writing and talking about Jesus.