"A life well spent" is from the introduction is a good summary of this short little book. It not only tells the life story of the famous hymn writer, who, though blind, has influenced more than one generation to turn to God through the simple words of her many hymns, some of which endured more than 100 years. After a short history of how she came to write, the second part of the book tells how some of the songs were written and distributed by famous preachers during the revival movements of the 19th century, and into the twentieth century. Personal conversion stories of men and women who were singly affected by hearing a song and turned to Christ as a result are included in the final chapters.