`The life of every person is a journey towards oneself, the prototype of a road, the draft of a path. No person has completely become themselves; however, everyone aspires to achieve it, some blindly, others with more light, each as they can.` A mystic author and inadvertently a guru to millions, Hermann Hesse offers in his novels, essays, and poetry visions and advice of immense value for a simple, wise, and meaningful life. [Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]