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 Nikolai Grozni was a music prodigy, a jazz pianist training at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, when suddenly he decided to transform his life.
He moved to India to become a Buddhist monk—shaving his head, learning Tibetan, and donning long traditional robes. In the Himalayas—living in a hut a stone’s throw from the Dalai Lama’s compound— Grozni became
entrenched in a sometimes comical, sometimes reverent, always intriguing community comprised of feisty nuns, bossy monks, violent chess players, demanding teachers, and a spectacular friend called Tsar, a fallen monk from Bosnia. We are all very lucky he decided to disrobe and put in writing his thoughts and impressions from that period. His first book in English, TURTLE FEET: The Making and Unmaking of a Buddhist Monk, receives rave reviews by the NY Times and Kirkus. We trust his soul-searching and reflections on the human situation in places near and far will strike a chord with you too. Turtle Feet is available in the UK through the usual online book retailers. The BCC Committee is working actively on getting Nikolai to visit London and be a guest to the Club. "This is a rare and wonderful book, unlike anything I've ever read before. Rich in detail and humor, with a quirky and exotic cast of characters, it’s an exquisitely written journey through life in a Tibetan monastery and village, where a brilliant young Western monk encounters discipline, freedom, Buddhism and himself." --Anne Lamott, author of Grace (Eventually) "Turtle Feet is a remarkable book. Yes, it’s a spiritual journey filled with beautiful insights – but it’s also a funny and gritty tale of dysentery, stoner roommates, cranky monks and flirty nuns. I felt enlightened for having read it." --A. J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/books/review/Finnerty-t.html?_r=1&ref=review&oref=slogin http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Turtle-Feet/Nikolai-Grozni/e/9781594489846/?tabname=custreview#TABS |
