Understanding Our Story
The Life’s Work and Legacy of Adrian van Kaam in the Field of Formative Spirituality
by Rebecca Letterman and Susan Muto
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
Rebecca Letterman, PhD, is Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, New York, and is a frequent retreat leader for churches and various organizations in the Upstate New York region.
Susan Muto is a renowned speaker, author, teacher, and dean of the Epiphany Academy of Formative Spirituality. A single laywoman living her vocation in the world and doing full-time, church-related ministry as the executive director of Epiphany Association, Muto has led conferences, seminars, workshops, and institutes throughout the world.
Professor Muto received her PhD in English literature from the University of Pittsburgh, where she specialized in the work of post-Reformation spiritual writers. Beginning in 1966, she served in various administrative positions at the Institute of Formative Spirituality (IFS) at Duquesne University and taught as a full professor in its programs, edited its journals, and served as its director from 1981 to 1988. An expert in literature and spirituality, she continues to teach courses on an adjunct basis at many schools, seminaries, and centers of higher learning. She aims in her teaching to integrate the life of prayer and presence with professional ministry and in-depth formation in the home, the church, and the marketplace.
As the editor and co-author of many books by and with Rev. Adrian van Kaam, CSSp, PhD (1920-2007), as a frequent contributor to scholarly and popular journals, and as herself the author of over thirty books, she has achieved recognition as an excellent researcher and teacher in her field. In fact, her many books on formative reading of scripture and the masters are considered to be premiere introductions to the classical art and discipline of formative spirituality and its systematic, comprehensive formation science, anthropology, and theology. She lectures nationally and internationally on the treasured wisdom of the Judeo-Christian faith and formation tradition and on many foundational facets of living human and Christian values and virtues in today's world.
Professor Muto holds membership in numerous honorary organizations and has received many distinctions for her work, including a Doctor of Humanities degree from King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She was also one of four Catholic writers to be honored in 2009 with a lifetime achievement award by the Catholic Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. She is the recipient of the 2014 Aggiornamento Award presented by the Parish and Community Library Services Section of the Catholic Library Association in recognition of an outstanding contribution made by an individual or an organization to the ministry of renewal modeled by Pope John XXIII (1881-1963). For more information on her life and ministry, go to www.epiphanyacademyofformativespirituality.org.
"Letterman and Muto brilliantly expose the depth, beauty, and applicability of van Kaam's approach to formative spirituality. This is a must-read for seminarians, spiritual directors, and all who wish to grasp what it means to become truly human."
--Douglas R. Cullum, PhD, Vice President and Dean, Northeastern Seminary, Rochester, NY
"This introduction to Adrian van Kaam makes accessible to a broader public an important Christian contribution to holistic anthropology and formative spirituality. Marked by clear exposition, Letterman and Muto's analysis of van Kaam's multidimensional and dynamic view of the person not only has implications for counseling and spiritual direction, but encouraged me to reflect on the course of my own life. A book to be studied and savored."
--J. Richard Middleton, Northeastern Seminary, Rochester, NY
"What an awesome task accomplished by Letterman and Muto. I am honored and excited to endorse this book, so welcome and needed in order to share the depth and breadth of van Kaam's body of work!"
--Sharon Richardt, DC, BSNsg, MA, PhD
"This book is a gift to readers willing to engage their intellect to grasp this comprehensive model, abandon themselves to the mystery of God's direct formative touch, and radiate God's care and concern to others. . . . I highly recommend this book and I consider it required reading for anyone engaged in the integration of Christianity and psychology or a ministry of spiritual formation."
--William G. Roth, ThM, PsyD, Clinical Psychologist; Loma Linda University School of Medicine