writing . . .

books published . . .

This Side of Nirvana: Memoirs of a Spiritually Challenged Buddhist

(Fair Winds 2001; reissued by Keep It Simple Books 2008, with a foreword by Cheri Huber)

nirvana

I became a “seeker” not by nature but by necessity; my interest in meditation was strictly an antidote to near-terminal restlessness. Far from offering a magic cure, meditation proved excruciating. As a last resort, I went to work at Southern Dharma Retreat Center in western North Carolina in hopes of acquiring equanimity through osmosis… read more . . .

 

 

 

Hello at Last: Embracing the Koan of Friendship & Meditation

(Windhorse Publications Ltd, 2007)

helloHello At Last is about spiritual friendship – specifically, ways of deepening our connections with others.

My interest in spiritual friendship began when I interviewed members of a Buddhist group in India and learned their practices for cultivating openness, trust, and warmth between people. I returned to explore similar practices in this country, from basic exercises in reflective listening to meditative dialog—on retreat, with a friend, and even online. read more . . .

 

other writing . . .

Chapter on White Privilege

“To See: The Blindness of Whiteness,” in Slavery’s Descendants: Shared Legacies of Race & Reconciliation (Rutgers University Press, 2019)

 

 

 

 

 

From New Southerner

The Elk on Runaway Ridge: Who Doesn’t Belong Here
Giving It a Rest

Texts included in art installations by Marya Roland

The Real Thing — in Catholicity, a virtual exhibit of art and writing on universal human experience reflected through individual perspectives
Useful/Useless in The Sisyphus Project sculpture installation “Ephyrian Circle”

From RightView Quarterly

In the Forest, in the Rain (an early version of a chapter published in Hello At Last)

From The Commonspace, Expatriates Column

Pedestrian Times

Book reviews, Smoky Mountain News

Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith
The Shining Shining Path, by Carroll Dale Short

books in progress . . .

The Living Treasure Journals

A young musicologist’s encounter with a Pakistani musician changes her course in life.

A Job, with Asparagus: A Memoir of Work & Love

Through rigorous editorial training at an old-fashioned mom-&-pop publishing company, I stumbled into mindfulness practice — text editing as “care of the word” — and the transformative power of doing work I loved. This is a coming-of-middle-age story in which an unpromising job among unlikely people leads to professional fulfillment, deep friendships, and unexpected happiness.

and just for fun . . .

Earth Day, or The All-Species Parade
Editing & Writing