Henri Nouwen found a remarkable spiritual guide in a severely disabled young man named Adam.

Excerpts from Adam: God's Beloved:

"In our society plagued by fear, anxiety, loneliness, depression and a sense of being lost, we keep looking for guides. We so much hope that someone—a guru, spiritual director or soul friend—can help us make sense out of our confusion and can show us a way to inner wholeness, freedom and peace."

"I recognized that Adam's way, the way of radical vulnerability, was also the way of Jesus."

"Adam clearly challenged us [the L'Arche Daybreak community] to trust that compassion, not competition, is the way to fulfill our human vocation. This challenge forced us to reexamine all the basic assumptions of our individual and action-oriented lives."

"I am a witness to Adam's truth. I know that I couldn't have told Adam's story if I hadn't first known Jesus' story. Jesus' story gave me eyes to see and ears to hear the story of Adam's life and death."