“Washam, cofounder of Oakland, Calif.’s East Bay Meditation Center, blends personal stories with Buddhist wisdom and a range of other traditions (particularly shamanism) in this forceful invitation to personal transformation…Washam brings energy and passion to the often-staid genre of writing by contemporary American Buddhist teachers. [She] brings considerable gifts for conveying her vision of personal change and offers vivid, inspiring testimony to the power of Buddhism (and other wisdom traditions) to help heal suffering.” (Nov.) – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Spring Washam offers us wise medicine through courageous storytelling, transmuting suffering into faith and beauty. A Fierce Heart is earthy, practical, heartfelt, and humanizing. A must read for those of us who want to become more intimate with the gifts that suffering makes possible.” — Ruth King, author, Healing Rage and Mindful of Race