“Much has been written about Desmond Tutu, some of it by Dr. Michael Battle. But in this important work he gives us something very special indeed, moving beyond any political lens and instead revealing the interpersonal spirituality that lies at the heart of Tutu’s prophetic and political action. In these pages, we see a familiar friend in a fresh light. And that light shining through him is a light that comes from God, which no darkness can overcome.” —The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and Author of Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times

“This is a profoundly beautiful and necessary contribution to learning from one of our wisest leaders in a new generation and a changed world. We are immersed in the rich spiritual and theological intelligence that formed Tutu’s singular agency in one of humanity’s most extraordinary social transformations. Just as importantly, as Michael Battle engages with the life of his teacher and friend, he models a spirituality towards the social courage and creativity that this century demands.”—Krista Tippett, Founder and CEO of The On Being Project and Host of On Being and Becoming Wise

“Michael Battle has not only given us a powerful framing of Desmond Tutu’s spiritual life—one that will be studied for many years—but he has also made clear what it means to see someone as a saint who lives not in unapproachable light, but in the real struggles of this world where God is to be found and known. Battle knows that world as well as he knows Desmond Tutu and it is from the deep well of knowledge of both God’s ways of justice and one of God’s humble servants that he offers us this gem of a book.” —Willie James Jennings, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies, Yale University