This is a very good book written by the current pope in relation to modern day crises. The impetus was the pandemic of Covid-19, a disease that was worldwide and has had enormous impact. It is not only the was the catholic Church does business, but every where else. Pope Francis has taken the time to review the synods on the family and young people, but also Amazonia (2019) which has had a rougher time. Many priests do not want to be stuck in the Amazon rain forest and the question has come up whether permanent deacons can satisfy the need for clergy whose role can be seen as narrower (can't celebrate mass) and also wider where the deacon is the only clergy within a viable distance of the people whom they are serving.
The pope can be very expressive and writes well. He also has a good assisting author in Austin Ivereigh, who also helped with the Spanish edition. ( )

Don't look for any deep theological discourse in this book. There is none. What there is are the thoughts of an Archbishop from a large city and the Bishop of Rome. His prescription will be dismissed as a "couldn't-happen-event." But one must ask: why not? It was eminently clear in the last Presidential campaign in the USA that the two sides don't talk to each other; they talk about each other but that cannot identify common ground. And, because of that campaign, we in the USA have not heard much about the rest of the world except how one side claims the other is exploited by China or Russia. Intuition suggests many of the same things troubling us in the USA are prevalent throughout the world. Thus, again, why not try Francis' solution of synodalism?
The Pope has a fine way of presenting his ideas, easy to understand. I don't buy everything he proposes but he'd be the first to acknowledge that not everyone would or should.
As I said to a correspondent earlier, this book will not leave my home until I've read it at least once more. ( )