From steeped within the Roman Catholic tradition, Charles Murphy offers this title in order to renew "the practice of fast and abstinence based upon a deeper understanding of its role in our religious life." In this brief book (105 pages), Murphy explores the many reasons why fasting is important: it integrates prayer as being both of body and spirit, it is part of a long-standing tradition of Jewish and Christian practice, it helps to heal our relationship with God, and it helps us stand in solidarity with the poor and hungry. Overall his discussion of these points is extremely well done. Based firmly in the witness of the Bible and pillars of the Christian faith, his thesis is that fasting is important and necessary. "We fast not just for fasting's sake, but to be able to feast, to live in the present with great pleasure and a joy that lasts." Throughout this book there’s a tolerance-loaded-pluralism that stresses that fasting is a valuable humanitarian discipline, not a faith based one! “Food is an obsession in our culture, and I really think we need wisdom from the Church about eating…..” This is a tasty and compact little title, but sadly not the best or clearest in its subject area in the market today.