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By Alfred Bloom
In this telling and vivid memoir, we see unfold the story of one unique human being, Alfred Bloom, told in clear, frank, and unembellished terms, like the man himself. It is such a rich study in the journey of a man, his family, his many friends and acquaintances; his personal and religious awakening; and history spanning over three-quarters of a century, as seen through his eyes. It is the tale of a man of gifted intellect, intuition, and prose, yet utterly unpretentious in its charm and insight into the protean nature of the religious quest, through which the author becomes not more certain but more open to the ever changing landscape of reality. Riding on the waves of compassion, he seems to come home, to various places geographically for sure, but most significantly, to himself, to the embrace of the great flow of life, which in Shin Buddhism is expressed as Amida's Vow, as Namu Amida Butsu.
-Mark Unno, Associate Professor of Japanese Buddhism,
University of Oregon.
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