Book Description

"Tending the Fire: Through War and The Path of Meditation " Raised on a South Carolina sea island, tempered by experiences in the Vietnam War, and trained as a psychotherapist, Ralph Steele decided midlife that tending the fire of his life would be to take robes as a forest monk in Thailand and Myanmar-for a year or for a lifetime. He left his career and twenty-year relationship without knowing if he would return. " Tending the Fire " is the gripping, enlightening, and very human story of Ralph's transformative journey through war and meditation to a sense of wholeness, responsibility, peace, and compassion. Partial Endorsements: "Ralph Steele's memoir will be of great value, an inspiration for many who are seeking release from ignorance and suffering" " Ajahn " Sumedho "A beautifully written, humbling, uplifting, and profoundly sweet and electrifying life story illustrating the transformative value of the cultivation of mindfulness . . ." Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of " Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness" "One can't help but marvel at Ralph Steele's extraordinary life." Joseph Goldstein, author of "Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening " "Buddha was a Kshatriya; he came from the warrior class, Ralph, too is a warrior who, like Buddha, had to climb the walls of his enclosures to breathe the fresh air." Stephen and Ondrea Levine, authors of " Becoming Kuan Yin: The Evolution of Compassion " and "The Healing I Took Birth For " "Ralph is able to show us, in an unflinchingly graphic story, what is at once intimate and honest, heart-shredding and tender." Wayne Muller, M. Div., author of " Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives " "Ralph Steele's " Tending the Fire " offers a glimpse into worlds few of us will ever experience-and yet the humanity he shares with us is something we all can resonate with." Alexandra Kennedy, M.A., LMFT, author of " Losing A Parent: Passage to a New Way of Living " and " Creating a Space to Let Yourself Heal "