This text is a personal response to the suffering the author witnessed amongst the many to whom he ministered, and in his own life. It has become evident that the problem of evil in the face of a loving God is not to be solved at a purely intellectual level, it is by traversing the valley where death cast its long shadow that the sufferer learns the basic truths about his or her condition. The author states that his book will give cold comfort to those who want instant relief but, to those who are prepared to proceed with their difficulties with courage, it will show the way of advance that has been tried and proved by at least one traveller.