“With a deft touch and lively spirit, Eric Clayton has written nothing less than a vibrant screenplay for the spiritual life. This book addresses the imagination, stirs the heart, and invites one to undertake a pilgrimage that has the potential to change one’s life. Clayton proves himself a worthy apprentice to Obi-Wan Kenobi. With this book, he empowers readers to take their ‘first steps into a larger world' where they may encounter Christ in the most unexpected places.”

—Fr. Ryan Duns, SJ, professor and author of Theology of Horror: The Hidden Depths of Popular Films

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“If you want to “get” speculative storytelling—fantasy, science fiction, and the like—you have to dwell with it. You have to inhabit the world being presented to you. You have to let it wash over you, so that you see the world through the eyes of your favorite author or moviemaker or storyteller. The same, it turns out, goes for the spiritual life, and for the kind of attitude we must cultivate if we are to perceive in creation the imaginative hand of its Author. Eric Clayton has dwelt with both speculative storytelling and the spiritual life. In Where Wonder Leads, he shows us how the imagination we cultivate through storytelling can enrich our spiritual lives. And then, just as any good storyteller or spiritual guide does, he invites us into the adventure.”

—Joseph M. Vukov, PhD, Associate Director, The Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage

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“Clayton’s book is a loving invitation to remember that the movements of the Holy Spirit are always more dynamic and inviting than we can imagine—and indeed it may be through the extraordinary God-given gift of our imaginations that we are best able to feel them transform us.”

—Susan Haarman, PhD, Director of Campus Partnerships, Interfaith America, and author of Roll for Discernment: Dungeon Master as St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Director.

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“As kids, we all knew, deep down, that we were destined to be heroes. We fought dragons, saw magic in every corner of God’s world, and wondered, “Does Dad believe in fairies, too?” Eric Clayton’s Where Wonder Leads guides the reader back to those heroic moments of childhood through the imagination, exploring the richness of fairyland, to enrich our souls once more.”

—Rose John Sheffler, author, Past Watchful Dragons: Biblical Stories Retold

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“The constant yearning of our soul is to find deep and purposeful spiritual meaning to our life. Eric Clayton tells us how, shows us how, and then leads us on the way. This book is the map, the sign, the path, and the guide. But this book is no simple step-by-step, just add water, guide of exercises of the Ignatian Way. Clayton is a poet, and this book is an adventure into the hinterland of Faerie. But Clayton is also a prophet, who uses Ignatius to call us to ourselves and to God, demonstrating how to take the imagination of The Good, make it tangible, and begin to change not only our world, but the entire world. This is the book I have needed to read—and wished I could have written.”

—Sonya Shetty Cronin, PhD, Florida State University Department of Religion & International Programs, Executive Director of The Carrier Pigeon Post