We are thrilled to announce:
Pilgrim Maya
Published by Odeon Press
August 1st, 2022
Pilgrim Maya is available on Amazon in either paperback or Kindle version, and on Barnes & Noble in either paperback or Nook version. Pilgrim Maya is also available on iTunes, Rakuten kobo, and IndieBound.
We are delighted with early praise received:
Pilgrim Maya tells the story of a woman who has suffered the kind of devastating loss that could easily destroy the rest of her life – or transform her into a powerful force for love and healing. With such high stakes, plus the lucid voice of its first-person narrator, this novel has the essential ingredients for an uplifting and engrossing read. Besides offering illuminating glimpses into the paradoxical “Oneness of Everything,” its characters and communities have dedicated themselves to awakening in sometimes novel and surprising ways. The Pilgrim is a testament to the creativity and kindness of one’s fellow pilgrims on the path to redemption. Recommended for seekers!
– Barbara McHugh, author of the award-winning novel, Bride of the Buddha
Pilgrim Maya is a fascinating peregrination, an open-hearted “private journal” of a woman who dispels guilt, accepts life as wabi-sabi, sees the beauty of transience and imperfection, and relishes the delights of her body and mind.
– Pat Ryan’s reviews and articles have appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, where she was an editor in the Culture Department. Her short stories have been published in the literary journals Chautauqua, American Writers Review, The Ghost Story and The Hopper.
Pilgrim Maya is recommended for a broad audience of readers, from those interested in novels of growth and adventure to discussion groups that would focus on Maya’s progressive journeys as a touch point for not just recovery from grief or loss, but opportunities for transcendence and new purpose.
– D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
The Story:
Maya Marinovich has lost her husband and baby daughter in a freak car crash. Why did she survive? Should she even exist? Maya travels from Boston to San Francisco, embarking on a personal pilgrimage, desperate for a way forward. First Maya gets involved briefly, but passionately, with the leader of a Japanese cult movement called The Lost Tribe. Next Maya lands a job as an assistant property manager for The Bon Vivants, a group of artists, dancers, writers, and musicians who live in a co-housing building in Oakland called The Laundry. After a summer of making friends, and beginning to enjoy life again, Maya learns details about the accident that send her spiraling back into depression. In the final section, Maya meets Buddhist teachers Eli Ronen and his wife Reva, and begins a lifelong process of healing and transformation.