This edition includes the following bonus material:

• A three-part prologue by the translator, who was a witness before the tribunal of St. Thérèse’s beatification, providing valuable historical background.

• An epilogue by St. Thérèse’s fellow nuns at the Carmel of Lisieux, describing the final days of her life.

• Extensive footnotes by the translator, and Carmelite nuns who knew St. Thérèse, providing historical context and illuminating details.

“O Jesus! Thy arms, then, are the lift which must raise me even unto Heaven. To reach Heaven I need not become great; on the contrary I must remain little, I must become even smaller than I am.”

The writing of her Autobiography by Saint Thérèse was an act of obedience. The superiors who imposed on her the task sought in all simplicity their own edification. But the fragrance of its pages was such that they were advised to give it to the world, and this they did in 1899, two years after the death of the Saint.

The book received a warm welcome, even from those outside the Catholic Church, and has led more than one soul back to the Fold. More than one Protestant clergyman has had it circulated through his entire parish.

In these inimitable pages, as in those of St. Teresa of Avila or St. John of the Cross, the spirit of poetry is the handmaid of holiness. When St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus takes up the narrative of her life, she does so in words that not only tell of love but set the heart on fire, and at the same time lay bare the workings of grace in a soul that “from the age of three never refused God anything.” The book sets forth her worldwide mission of preaching the ancient message of God’s Merciful Love, and of pointing out the ever new way to Him of “confidence and self-surrender.”