i would give my firstborn child if goodreads would let me give this a 3.5

it's quite good, a little lippy, and the autobiographical bits aren't gonna be everyone's cup of tea, but a great introduction to buddhism and its secular friend, mindfulness. i appreciated that it was a) not a traditional self-help book, because those can be a slog and b) that it was coming from the same place i was re: skepticism.

i found it a little too personal and cliquey at times (see: jew-bu) but it's decently rigorous for what is basically an autobiography. also i have a bunch of questions, but i suppose that's an indication that i enjoyed it? the epilogue in particular was kind of sudden. I wish there was more on that.

my other key warning is buried in the last like, tenth of the book, which is that if you have moderate to severe depression/anxiety (or similar affliction) you should practice mediation/mindfulness along with a therapist or other professional. in general my gripe with mindfulness is that there's not always a lot of attention paid to uh, this is really not quite the word i'm looking for, but, intersectionality? please don't @ me about this. don't even read this review. bye