Chasing Nirvana

“Priya is one of the most courageous people I know—the journey of a real seeker isn’t for the faint of heart. As Priya makes clear in her story, you have to have courage to go beyond the mundane comfort of the familiar, on a road that leads to places you’ve never been. She went there her way, and that’s what makes her journey an inspiration to others.”—Arlo Guthrie, musician and American singer-songwriter “Bold and beautifully told, Chasing Nirvana beckons us inside an incense-filled ashram, to sit at the feet of “Ma”—a diet-obsessed guru in red plaid flannel shorts and gold bangles who is both evangelical pastor and charismatic MLM leader. After decades of sacrifice and secrets, Priya Hutner’s memoir tells tough truths about the ritual de lo habitual of life in a cult. Realizing Ma’s insatiable appetite for devotion is starving those around her of their own happiness, Priya finally chooses herself and chases her own Nirvana.”—Bridey Thelen-Heidel, author of Bright Eyes: Surviving Our Monsters and Learning to Live without Them—A Memoir “In this unflinching account of growing up in a religious community dominated by a complicated leader, Priya Hutner deftly dances between her genuine love for her guru and a lucid portrayal of the dangers and dysfunctions of giving one’s power away to a charismatic and unstable teacher who demands blind loyalty.”—Mirabai Starr, author of Caravan of No Despair and Ordinary Mysticism “Hutner reveals a depth of introspection rarely shared. In doing so, she eloquently presents a spiritual architecture for interdependence and reciprocation with the world.”—Obi Kaufmann, author of the California Field Atlas