Simply stated. Profoundly received. ( )

Reminiscences of her life, how she began meditating, the influence it has had on her. Not on what Buddhist philosophy is (tho some of that is mentioned), which is fine with me--I learn better by seeing it put into practice. And that also seems to be how Buddhism is taught: by the example of the teacher, how well they are grounded in their practice, how it shines through them.
As a writer who teaches writing, she relates everything to how one writes, but it can also be read as how one follows any path--just substitute in your personal passion each time she says "write".
There were many lines that spoke directly to me, lines I underlined to come back to, and a few lines that I disputed. The feeling state of her childhood is mine, that despair at not fitting in, not being recognized for who I am. ( )

My mom got this for me, shoved it in my hands, told me to read it. I'm glad she did. Damn good book. Goldberg is an amazing writer. ( )

I first discovered Goldberg in a college creative writing class that used Writing Down the Bones as a textbook. I instantly fell in love with her gentle-yet-firm "just write it" philosophy. I read several of her other writing books and her novel, but am only now getting to her autobiographical works. Here, she talks mostly about her life as a Buddhist and her relationship with her teacher while she lived in Minnesota. It's actually a really interesting glimpse into a life that is so completely foreign to me. I've never lived in a hippie neighborhood or taught sixth graders or spent entire days in meditation or even ever visited the parts of New Mexico, Minnesota, and New York where Goldberg lived. This is certainly not an exciting book by any stretch of the imagination, but I really enjoyed joining Goldberg on this quiet journey from childhood through love and loss until finally finding her true home. ( )

Spiritual journey into Zen by the author of Writing Down the Bones. ( )