Summary from Goodreads:

When a massive wildfire surrounded Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, five monks risked their lives to save it. A gripping narrative as well as a portrait of the Zen path and the ways of wildfire, Fire Monks reveals what it means to meet a crisis with full presence of mind.

Zen master and author of the classic Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi established a monastery at Tassajara Hot Springs in 1967, drawn to the location’s beauty, peace, and seclusion. Deep in the wilderness east of Big Sur, the center is connected to the outside world by a single unpaved road. The remoteness that makes it an oasis also makes it particularly vulnerable when disaster strikes. If fire entered the canyon, there would be no escape.

(Read more summary from Goodreads here.)

My Review:

Hm.  Well, this was an experiment that just did not work for me.  When I saw the book listed in an offering from the fine folks at TLC Tours, I decided to take  a chance, because I do like to challenge myself and try things that are out of my normal comfort zone.  Earlier this year I read, and thoroughly enjoyed a non-fiction tale of a plane crash and I had hoped that I would have the same enjoyment from Fire Monks.

Unfortunately, for someone like me who knows next to nothing about Buddism, who has never heard of Tessajara and who knows nothing of the people in this story, this book did not work.  Although it’s apparent right from the start how much Colleen Morton Busch has invested in the story, in Tessajara and in the lives of those living there, to a stranger like me it came off as if I was standing in the background, listening to one stranger tell a friend or colleague of theirs this story.  I just couldn’t connect.

In spite of the lack of connection, I did receive some educational benefit from reading Fire Monks.  It is very instructional, giving the reader an idea of what a Zen community is like, and it is very quiet and peaceful, despite the subject matter – which also gave me more of a taste of what it is like to live in a place such as Tessajara.  Even with a fire bound for this place, with the chaos of the preparation and the upheaval of those who had to leave, there is a calm and peace about the story that, I think, had less to do with any sort of detachment from the subject material and more to do with the calm and peace Colleen Morton Busch has learned to embrace through her lifestyle.

I may not agree with everything that has to do with Buddism, but I do find peace and my own sense of enlightenment when I take the time to calm down, breathe deeply and focus on just one thing, and I admire the group of people discussed in this book for their bravery and their dedication when everything that was dear and precious to them was threatened.

About the Author

• Colleen’s website.

For more reviews on Fire Monks by Colleen Morton Busch, please follow the book tour.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from TLC Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”