If life is a journey--with detours paths from which to choose and myriad roadblocks to overcome--then Otto Ringling is most certainly on the journey of a lifetime The first fifty or so years of Ottos journey were pretty good He felt he had it all until one day he didnrsquot Looking for answers he calls on his enlightened brother-in-law Volya Rinpoche a wise man with Russian roots a Tibetan heritage and an international reputation as a spiritual teacher The two men first got to know each other on a journey years before during which they explored both the real and spiritual aspects of the world around them Now Otto needs his brother-in-lawrsquos wisdom once more and this time it turns out that Rinpoche himself is also lookingfor guidance They embark on a road trip over highways and back roads across the middle of America hoping to sort out whatrsquos troubling them They encounter a diverse cast of characters along the way as they look for answers to lifersquos mysteries With its highs and lows their trip is of course a metaphor for lifersquos larger journey But it is also a lesson in love and gratitudeThe two travelers peer beneath the surface of things to seek a deeper purpose Luckily for them and for us we never know whatrsquos waiting around the next bend in the road ldquoWe like Otto find our cynicism worn away by Rinpochersquos gentle instruction in the simple but terribly difficult art of letting go living each moment to the fullest seeing the sacred in the everyday This brave meditative author has carved a unique niche in American literaturerdquo mdashKirkus Reviews starred review.
