Why read Dreaming Me?

Book cover of Dreaming Me: Black, Baptist, and Buddhist — One Woman's Spiritual Journey

Book description

Jan Willis is not Baptist or Buddhist. She is simply both. Dreaming Me is the story of her life, as a child growing up in the Jim Crow South, dealing with racism in an Ivy League college, and becoming involved with the Black Panther Party. But it wasn't until meeting…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Dreaming Me as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Cyndi Lee

Author

Jan Willis is one of our most respected American Buddhist teachers and scholars. Like so many Americans who identify as Buddhists, Jan Willis’ story begins with a Christian background. Willis was raised in the Baptist church in Alabama where she endured Jim Crow racism and later marched with MLK, Jr. She writes about the obstacles she faced in her Ivy League education and how she eventually met her Buddhist guru in India. This story is so resonant for me because it reminds me that we can evolve and grow on our spiritual journey without rejecting any part of who we…

From Cyndi's list on Buddhist and yoga biographies and memoirs.

Lorne Ladner

Author

A deeply moving and beautifully written exploration of what the Tibetan Buddhist tradition has to offer for healing for Americans. This book is also a deeply intimate exploration of the impacts of racism in America told in the context of Willis' own experiences marching with Dr. King as a teenager, being targeted by the KKK, being sought out by the Black Panthers, healing, and becoming a healing presence for others, and becoming a professor and renowned teacher.

From Lorne's list on biographies within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.