Oliva shows how the four basic male archetypes can be used as tools to help men grow toward maturity and wholeness. The positive and negative dimensions of each archtype are illustrated by the personal stories of thirteen men whom the author interviewed.
Stella shows what can happen when we move from certitude to doubt, from stability to searching. When life experiences seem to tell us that the "right" answers no longer seem so "right: " such a time is an enriching time, a time when life is no longer a matter of going from "question to answer, but from question to question." Stella concludes that "life in all its messiness is a sacred affair."