Come Away and Rest: A Guide to Personal Spiritual Retreats

by Alyson Pryor

Overview

Find Peace in His Presence: A Companion for Your Spiritual Retreat

Do you feel inundated from all sides, your soul overwhelmed by endless consumption, constantly absorbing relentless content wherever you go? Yet does your soul still feel hungry and satisfaction seem out of reach? What you're longing for is solitude with God. Come Away and Rest invites you to step away from the noise of a hurried world and into the sustaining presence of God.

Alyson Pryor gently guides you on a healing, life-giving path of spiritual renewal through personal retreats of silence, solitude, and intentional rest. This thoughtful guide offers step-by-step instructions for customizing six types of personal retreats that you can practice from anywhere. Whether you're new to the idea of retreats or looking for fresh guidance, this book will be a nurturing companion for your spiritual growth.

In Come Away and Rest, you will find:

• Guidance for how to prepare for a personal spiritual retreat
• Step-by-step instructions for crafting six personal retreats, ranging between six hours to several days
• Wisdom for re-entering life after a retreat

If you need discernment, are grieving, are going through a time of transition, or are simply weary, Come Away and Rest helps you find the sacred rhythm of spiritual retreat. Pryor's reflections lead you through the deeper purpose of resting in God's presence—a practice that isn't just restorative but essential. Discover the rest your soul longs for. Get your copy of Come Away and Rest and be inspired to make retreating with God an essential rhythm in your spiritual life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781514011225
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	01/27/2026
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alyson Pryor is a trained marriage and family therapist and a certified spiritual director. She holds degrees in psychology from both the University of Southern California and Fuller Theological Seminary, as well as an MA in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care from Talbot Seminary. She currently serves as a staff spiritual director and adjunct faculty member at Biola University. Alyson and her family live in Southern California.

Table of Contents

1. The Invitation

Part One: Preparing
2. The Elements
3. Preparation Guide
4. Preparing Your Soul

Part Two: The Retreats
5. Arrival Guide
6. For One in Need of Rest
7. For One Who Is Weary
8. For a Time of Transition
9. For One Who Is Grieving
10. For One in Need of Discernment

Part Three: Returning
11. Reentry
12. Questions for Debriefing
13. Coming Away and Community

Acknowledgments
Appendix A: Companioning: A Guide for Leaders
Appendix B: Further Reading on the Practice of Retreat
Notes

Editorial Reviews

"In a world of hustle and hurry, we often choose to function on adrenaline and to-do lists, only to then collapse in exhaustion by checking out, numbing, or stuffing all the challenging parts of being human. In Come Away and Rest, Alyson Pryor is a gentle guide to show us a better way. Her book—practical, inviting, and centered on Jesus' gracious invitation—is a needed tonic for our digital age."

Ashley Hales

"Alyson Pryor's guide to personal retreat is an urgently needed resource to gently guide us into Jesus' habit of coming away to be with his Father. Weaning us from our need to perform and produce, even in our spiritual lives, Pryor provides practical support for meeting with God in seasons of exhaustion, uncertainty, and grief. I will treasure this guide for myself and highly recommend it to others!"

Jen Pollock Michel

"Alyson Pryor is one of those rare spiritual directors who speaks with the wisdom of God, authenticity of character, and clarity of experience. I know this because she's walked closely with me—guiding, praying, and gently helping me reorient toward God's presence in my own life. In Come Away and Rest, Alyson doesn't just tell us we need time away with Jesus; she shows us how to actually do it. This book will awaken your desire and urgency for retreat, not just for what it gives you, but for who you become when you're with him."

Megan Fate Marshman

"Drawing on her personal experience and training, author Alyson Pryor offers a long overdue, practical, informative, and insightful resource for the church and for everyone who feels called or needs to step aside, opening their lives and hearts to God. This is not just a book but a companion that will help find rest for your soul."

Larry Warner

"Alyson Pryor nails a reality that transcends the physical and invades our spiritual, emotional, relational and other aspects of life. We are hyper-driven and desperate for peace. In these pages Alyson not only shows us the importance of times of solitude, silence, and rest; she shows us just how to go about it in practical and specific ways. This is a book for our time."

Ed Stetzer