At the autobiographical heart of Augustine’s Confessions is the raw and shockingly contemporary struggle of a young man to find rest, beginning with his early childhood, spanning through licentious youth, and well beyond. It is a ‘confession’ in the most visceral sense, allowing the reader access to Augustine’s deepest, darkest admissions – interwoven with his philosophical and theological speculations throughout. Here we witness a penitent man cut himself open and bleed on the page; every nook and cranny of his inner self is exposed, washed, and redeemed.

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Written in the 14^th and 15^th centuries, first published in 1670, and now recognised as the earliest surviving book written in the English language by a woman, Julian’s work Revelations of Divine Love remains as studied, read, and revered as ever. When Julian was thirty, she received a series of visions while in the midst of recovering from a nearly lethal disease. Despite witnessing the ravages of constant war and even the Black Plague, her writings reflect the possibility of transcending circumstance when hope is grounded in God’s love. We are held in existence by this divine love and through it, all will eventually be brought to perfect union and peace.

Twice nominated for a Nobel Prize, Sri Aurobindo is remembered today both for his role in Indian independence and his development of Integral Yoga. As his principal work of philosophy, The Life Divine details the origins of the cosmos, its ultimate goals, and our role within the whole process. At over 1100 pages in length, Aurobindo exhaustively describes how the divine, called Brahman, expresses itself in the world. The world, then, is not mere illusion (maya) but a constantly evolving manifestation of God. Humanity, through the process of Integral Yoga, can aid in their own evolution, reaching new realms of consciousness such as Overmind or Supermind.