Here, ranging from debauched student life in Carthage to impassioned devotion as the Bishop of Hippo, is the story of St. Augustine, perhaps the most significant figure in all of Christianity since St. Paul. The son of a wealthy and profligate Roman, Augustine was torn between conflicting religious opinions as his student life bridged the cults which had developed around the true church. With simple intensity, Mr. Coray describes Augustine's relationship with his mother, Monica, the unquenchable fire of his passion for his mistress, Melanie, and the change of heart which led him to conversion. Augustine is frequently remembered only as a "saint"; SON OF TEARS helps to place him in perspective, a citizen also of this earth, where once he was someone's son.