Three Years on the Great Mountain

Audiobook news, recent book events, and 30% preorder discount from Shambhala Publications

My apologies for not sending any articles out recently. I’ve been busy with book promotion (see below) and will be returning to writing next week with an article reflecting on my teacher, Sayama Daian Roshi, and the nature of teacher-student relationships in Zen and spiritual training. 

In the meantime, I have quite a bit of news to share about my forthcoming book, Three Years on the Great Mountain: A Memoir of Zen and Fearlessness. Publication day is less than a month away!

June 18 Audiobook Release

A few weeks ago, I flew to LA to record the audiobook for Three Years on the Great Mountain. Iʻm grateful to have had two wonderful sound engineers and an all around wonderful time at Mosaic Studios in Van Nuys. I also got to see some family and friends, and it was nice to get out of the Dojo for a little bit. I made a short video of my last day recording, which I shared on Instagram and Tik Tok:

I'm thrilled that the audiobook now exists in my own voice. I was very committed to doing the narration because, not only are there sprinklings of words in different languages in the book (Burmese, Pali, Hindi, Japanese, Ōlelo Hawaiʻi, and Hawaiian Pidgin), there are also scenes of martial arts and Zen training that include yelling and scolding. I think these plus the Zen content and my own personal insights would have been pretty hard for any voice actor to portray.

The audiobook will be available on June 18, the same day as the paperback and ebook. You'll be able to download it via Audible and other audiobook sellers.

30% Pre Order Discount from Shambhala Publications

Many thanks to my publisher, Shambhala Publications, for offering a 30% discount code for my book! Just go to their website and use the code MOUNTAIN30 for 30% off.

It turns out that preorders are the most important determinant of a book's success. Booksellers use preorder sale numbers to decide how many books they're going to hold in their warehouses and how much they'll promote a title. A lot of folks have already told me they've preordered! Thank you so much for your support. ❤️

My First Two Book Events!

Outside San Quentin Rehabilitation Center with Jun Hamamoto and at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business with Tiffany Teng.

While I was in California, I also had two book events. The first was at my business school reunion and the second was inside the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (formerly San Quentin Prison). Though the audiences couldn't have been more different, the receptions at both events were incredibly warm and welcoming. 

Thank you to Aunty Jun Hamamoto, the San Quentin Zen Sangha, the Stanford MSx program, and Tiffany Teng for putting these events together.

Press for Three Years on the Great Mountain

There will be a handful of book reviews, excerpts, and interviews running soon in publications like Tricycle Magazine (who recently published my newsletter on training in Kendo), Yo! Magazine, and The LA Times’ new book column Shelf Help. If you have a favorite podcast or publication you think Three Years on the Great Mountain would be a good fit for, please consider recommending it to them. You can also send me their name and I'll reach out.

That’s all for today. Thank you for all of your support and see you next week!