Dorothy Sayers once wrote of work, "It is not primarily a thing that one does to live, but the thing one lives to do. It is, or should be, the full expression of the worker's faculties, the thing in which he finds spiritual, mental and bodily satisfaction." Norvene Vest's Friend of the Soul: A Benedictine Spirituality of Work is a follow-up to her last book in which she explored the Benedictine practices of silence, prayer, and holy reading. Here the author views work as a holy endeavor — as vocation, stewardship, and obedience. The spiritual understanding of work, which has been operative in Benedictine monasteries around the world, sees our labor as an expression of our God-given gifts and talents. It contributes to the upbuilding of community, and it incarnates the process of serving others. Vest challenges us to unite work and prayer and, by so doing, to extend the kingdom of God.