Lotus Girl: My Life at the Crossroads of Buddhism and America

It is hard to imagine a life more intertwined with the rise of mainstream awareness of Buddhism in the United States than Tworkov’s (Zen in America). Her social connections, personal religious explorations, and work as the founding editor of Tricycle magazine have kept her close to the practice of Buddhism in the U.S. since the Vietnam War era. As a piece of American history, her book dazzles, featuring encounters with New York artists, Zen senseis, Tibetan lamas, and literary celebrities. Tworkov is consistently serendipitously close to the action, whether hosting monks, flying to retreats, or meeting teachers from various Buddhist traditions. In one scene, she is in the White House, secretly spreading karmic blessings from a portable, purse-mounted shrine, aimed at the back of Lady Bird Johnson. Beyond its exploration of the history of Buddhism in the U.S., this book is a quintessential memoir, full of family struggles, honest self-criticism, beloved dogs, homes built and lost, and personal reflections on growing older and depression.