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Finding Venerable Mother

A Daughter's Spiritual Quest to Thailand

Published by She Writes Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

When Cindy moves to Thailand with her husband and teenage son, she finds herself strangely adrift in a foreign culture, unprepared for the challenges she encounters there. On an impulse she signs up for a conference where she unexpectedly meets a Thai Buddhist nun, Venerable Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, who leads her on a spiritual journey from which there is no turning back. Along the way she discovers the beauty of the Thai people and culture. This soulful and engaging memoir is the story of one woman’s journey of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing through her connection to a loving Buddhist teacher who fully accepts and nurtures her in a way her own mother never did. Finding Venerable Mother is a testimony to the power of faith, forgiveness, and love.

About The Author

Cindy Rasicot’s life has been a spiritual journey since she was a small child. At four she asked her older brother (who was five at the time): “Where is God?” His answer: “Everywhere.” Puzzled, she looked all around her, but didn’t find evidence. She kept her brother’s words in her heart while growing up, and figured she’d have an answer someday. In the meantime, she got her master’s degree in marriage, family, and child counseling, married, and held management positions in non-profits for twenty-five years—all while exploring her passion for dance, art, and writing.

Cindy’s spiritual journey took on new dimensions when she, her husband, and their son moved to Bangkok, Thailand for three years. She met her spiritual teacher, Venerable Dhammananda Bhikkuni, the first fully ordained Thai Theravada nun—an encounter that opened her heart and changed her life forever. This deepening relationship led to writing her memoir, Finding Venerable Mother: A Daughter’s Spiritual Quest in Thailand, which chronicles her adventures along the spiritual path.

Her other writings include an article in Sawasdee Magazine in 2007 and essays featured in two anthologies: Wandering in Paris: Luminaries and Love in the City of Light (Wanderland Writers, 2013) and A Café in Space: The Anaïs Nin Literary Journal, Volume 11 (Sky Blue Press, 2014). She currently resides in Point Richmond, California, where she writes and enjoys views of the San Francisco Bay. Visit Cindy at cindyrasicot.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: She Writes Press (May 12, 2020)
  • Length: 232 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781631527036

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Raves and Reviews

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2021 Eric Hoffer Grand Prize Short List
2021 Sarton Awards Shortlist: Memoir
2020 CIBA Mind & Spirit Book Awards Finalist
2020 International Book Awards, Finalist in Spirituality: Inspirational

“An intriguingly honest portrayal of an expat’s life-altering personal growth in Asia.” —Kirkus Reviews “Beautifully crafted, miraculously evocative, and continuously inspiring, Finding Venerable Mother is, at its essence, a story about an intelligent modern woman's deeply felt spiritual quest.” —Jasmin Darznik, PhD author of Song of a Captive Bird and the New York Times bestseller The Good Daughter “I met Dhammananda personally decades ago and although our time together was short, the memory of her clarity and unshakable dedication and, above all, her kindness has stayed with me until now. Cindy Rasicot's loving account of her own transformation through knowing her is a joy to read.” ——Sylvia Boorstein, author of Happiness Is an Inside Job “The journey to heal the mother wound is long and dark. What a blessing it was for Cindy Rasciot to find a woman spiritual leader who shines a light upon her path to help heal her heart. Cindy reveals her courageous adventure to find compassion and forgiveness in her Finding the Venerable Mother.” —Linda Joy Myers, President, National Association of Memoir Writers, author of Journey of Memoir, Don’t Call Me Mother, and Song of the Plains

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