{"product_id":"my-year-of-dirt-and-water-journal-of-a-zen-monks-wife-in-japan-paperback","title":"My Year of Dirt and Water: Journal of a Zen Monk's Wife in Japan - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eTracy Franz\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarried to a Zen monk in training, an American woman in Japan chronicles her own year of growth and discovery\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn February 2004, when her American husband, a recently ordained Zen monk, leaves home to train for a year at a centuries-old Buddhist monastery, Tracy Franz embarks on her own year of Zen. An Alaskan alone--and lonely--in Japan, she begins to pay attention.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMy Year of Dirt and Water\u003c\/em\u003e is a record of that journey. Allowed only occasional and formal visits to see her cloistered husband, Tracy teaches English, studies Japanese, and devotes herself to making pottery. Her teacher instructs her to turn cup after cup--creating one failure after another. Past and present, East and West intertwine as Tracy is twice compelled to return home to Alaska to confront her mother's newly diagnosed cancer and the ghosts of a devastating childhood. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRevolving through the days, \u003cem\u003eMy Year of Dirt and Water\u003c\/em\u003e circles hard questions: What is love? What is art? What is practice? What do we do with the burden of suffering? The answers are formed and then unformed--a ceramic bowl born on the wheel and then returned again and again to dirt and water. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOriginally from Alaska, \u003cstrong\u003eTracy Franz\u003c\/strong\u003e lived in Japan for ten years. She now resides in Nova Scotia with her husband--Soto Zen priest Koun Franz--and their two children. Her essays have most recently appeared in \u003cem\u003eLotus Petals in the Snow: Voices of Canadian Buddhist Women\u003c\/em\u003e (Sumeru, 2016), \u003cem\u003eLion's Roar, \u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eTricycle\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eMagazine.\u003c\/em\u003e Find her at tracyfranz.com\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 308\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.9 x 8.4 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 10, 2018\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51755054006560,"sku":"9781611720426","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/d5cd1572b318c34e6adec69473e43504.webp?v=1780049388","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/my-year-of-dirt-and-water-journal-of-a-zen-monks-wife-in-japan-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}