Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World

Someone whose opinion I greatly value spoke highly of this book. I had no prior knowledge of Mary Pipher or her earlier work. I found it difficult to put this book down. Although younger than Mary Pipher, I grew up in the same state and shared enough experiences that the stories touched me a great deal. I also have shared some of her resulting corrective struggles over recent years, and found her wisdom meaningful and spot-on. Thanks for a wonderful read!

With each of her previous books, Mary Pipher demonstrated a talent for examining a drop of water and finding a way to understand, and - fortunately for the rest of us - to explain the ocean. Whether she focuses on adolescent girls, immigrants, the elderly or families, Mary is able to trace the connections between the individual and the culture and find the stories that explain us to ourselves and strangers to one another. Her new book, Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World, is no exception to this pattern. Even though the topic of this new book is her own life, a decidedly interesting one, its merits do not remain there. While rooted in the intimate experiences of one human being, the book flowers into a treatise about what it means to be Human. Like the stories that Mary's mother told her that became the bedrock for her moral education, Mary's life story teaches us something about how to behave toward ourselves and toward others. The book sparkles with wisdom and humor. There are dozens of paragraphs that stopped me with sadness as I recognized something that reflected my own life with crystalline clarity (as when she writes of her father, "My memories of our interactions contradict each other. He could turn my heart to butter and to stone. Across the broad landscape of time, I can't remember who he truly was."), but it's also laced with such surprising wit. (Okay, I admit I laughed out loud when I came across the sentence "The concept of a blow job was almost beyond my ability to understand, but Rhonda's explanations were riveting.") Ultimately the book gives us, if not a road map, at least a likable, well-read, soft-spoken traveling companion for our own journey toward peace.

I loved this book. I read it over a weekend and was entranced. I found myself marking page after page to note a phrase or idea that I wanted to return to and think more about. The book is funny, wise and inspirational. I have tons of books and generally give books away after I've read them. This is one of the few that I'm keeping.

This memoir deserves more than five stars! I just finished it and had to come here and post a review. I've been waiting and waiting for this book to come out and it not only didn't disappoint, but it by far exceeded my highest expectations. Whether Mary writes about the elderly or adolescence or the experiences of refugees and immigrants, she is always among the most insightful and heartfelt writers I've ever read. Seeking Peace is her autobiography. I wasn't sure what to expect. Autobiographies of fantastic individuals somehow too often turn out to be surprisingly dull but Seeking Peace is so naturally well written, so genuine and poignant and at times very funny, and allows you throughout the chapters to make meaningful parallels to your own in such a way that by the end of the book, I was able to see into the innermost creases and particulars of my own life in compelling, unexpected new ways. What I love about Pipher most of all is the wide pasture she has always allowed for people to be exactly who they are and her extraordinary ability to write about individuals and their challenges in such a way that you can't help but see your fellow human beings in more forgiving, compassionate, and broader ways. Learning about her own history and how she came to be who she is was a wonderful read. There wasn't one dry, unnecessary sentence in the book. Some autobiographies are filled with too much detail and content without the balance of thoughtful insight and observation accompanying it along the way. Seeking Peace wasn't like that at all. Her writing style is the best part, as if she is sitting in her living room simply reminiscing out loud. I almost wish I had gotten it on audio cd for that reason. Its a deeply personal, courageously honest, and ultimately very inspiring book.