Customer Reviews

Dreaming Me

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This book was read in one marathon session that flew by all too quickly. It spoke to the very core of my being. Having this story told in such a personal way deftly teaches the reader at every level. It's well written and one could easily be fooled that they are simply being entertained with a good read. There were many moments where I felt stunned with deep recognition of a life experience that mirrors a good portion of my own. I connected with this book deeply at the heart level. Most touching were the moments with her teacher, Lama Yeshe. His extraordinary heart helped her heal deep societal and personal pains which have traveled across generations influencing and shaping our culture in difficult ways. Thank goodness Dr. Willis chose to develop the good heart, rather than fight the good fight. One does not need to be in a culturally specific group or religion to recognize and feel Dr. Willis' experience. She reached into the depths of spirit and wrote in a way that touches universally. This lady has a heart that totally outsizes her brilliant, immeasurable intellect and her story will benefit countless numbers. I'm one unabashedly grateful reader.

I bought this book for the collection of the Nutley (NJ) Public Library. I read the review in Library Journal and was just fascinated. The book came, and after reading it, I am glad I bought it. You can use this book for several different purposes. 1. Discussion of Buddhism. 2. A travelog for India and Nepal. 3. The history of African-Americans in the South and what they went through. 4. A History of Universities in the 60's. 5. Personal Journeys.

Professor Willis started literally with the odds against her. If she were a thoroughbred in Triple Crown racing, it would have been a long shot bet. Thus, besides brilliance, being in the right place at the right time helps. It also helps that she is curious about things and questioning. You learn about her fork in the road. Buddhism or the Black Panthers. I am certainly glad she chose the former. Her lama, who knew nothing about American Race relations, but understood her personal issues. From that, he produced a Buddhist scholar, who I would be honored to study under. A great book for all personal journeys.

Books like "Dreaming Me" are gifts or treasures that we rarely have the good fortune to discover. Ms Willis' journey is at times painful yet ultimately joyful. She shares this pain and joy in a compelling writing style that is filled with anecdotes and drama. No matter what your life experiences may be you are quickly drawn into the universal themes that every human being shares. As a white male living in the Northeast during the sixties I was on the other side of the world from a person like Ms Willis. Yet she made her experiences part of me. And like two parts of a greater experience I felt whole after reading this book. I highly recommend it. Thank you Ms Willis for putting your experiences into such a beautifully written book.

Since I have met Jan Willis a few times through my own work at Naropa University, I emailed her after I finished reading Dreaming Me. Here's part of what I wrote to her: "I just wanted to let you know how engrossing I found your book. It was like talking to you, hanging out with you, to read it. I had put it at the bottom of my pile of "books I want to read" but somehow it jumped right up to the top, and I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Please take that as a resounding compliment! Thanks so much for writing it, and for revealing so much of your big heart.

This is a beautifully written, fascinating memoir. Although I grew up a white girl in Kansas City, not an African-American girl in Alabama like Willis, I kept having shocks of recognition as I read, because of the wisdom, humor, and skill with which Willis depicts childhood perceptions and family interactions. This book will be of interest to readers from many different backgrounds.

This book is one of the few that you don't want to put down until you've finished reading it! It is well written, enjoyable and very informative. It gives a glimpse into a world that many of us have never encountered, and an understanding of a time in our history that was shameful.

A reader from the Netherlands is deeply impressed by a book written by a woman who has tremendous courage. Jan Willis overcame racism in a way that can teach us all a lesson: try to use peace, not violence, to live in a world that seems so much against you. This book is a must for everyone who is taken by the issue of race. Jan Willis takes us on her journey from Alabama to India and Nepal, she becomes a professor of Buddhism in spite of all the hindrances she met, but even more,she is an African American Buddhist with two feet on the ground.

Reading this book was fascinating enough on a personal level, but it struck me forcefully that Dr. Willis' personal journey really reflected America's journey during the years referred to. Combatting racism, classism, and societal expectations, Dr. Willis forged a unique yet universally recognizable lifeline. Her journey is written about beautifully, smoothly, movingly - but I think, more importantly, becomes a journey that each of us can recognize and perhaps travel along with as we grow up as a people and a nation.

There is something intriguing about a story which chronicles a former Baptist's alteration towards adhering to the teachings of the Buddha Shakyamuni. Jan Willis is an African-American Tibetan scholar and translator, a professor of religion at Wesleyan University and teacher of Buddhism for more than 25 years. She starts the book recording her life prior to finding the Buddha's teachings, a life spent as a devout Southern Baptist in a segregation ridden south. The KKK was active in her area of Alabama, and at a very early age they had burned a cross in her parent's front lawn. Later she would go on to march in Martin Luther King's civil rights movement, adhering to the values she so strongly believed in. In 1965, with 7 other African-Americans, she enrolled in Cornell University where during her junior year she sailed off on a trip to India which greatly impacted her life. For a brief period she returned to the states to continue her studies at Cornell, but eventually she felt drawn back unto the East again. She left this time for Nepal and underwent intense study with the Tibetan master Lama Yeshe. She studied with him for more than 15 years, where she faced a problem most predominant in all our practices: sense of self, ego.

This book is a fascinating look at a very small minority in the world of Buddhism, the role African-Americans have played in it's growth and the teaching of the Dharma. In the west, in my lineage of Zen, African-American's are probably the least represented group of all. While we have male and female teachers, and practitioners of several racial and cultural backgrounds, for some reason or another there is a very small pocket of African-Americans present. This is not due to any sort of discrimination but rather, to be frank, oftentimes the African-American individual can at times have a problem with breaking down ego. Something which has it's roots in the horrendous treatment this group underwent at the hands of a predominantly white America. This work is a fascinating look at practicing the Buddha Dharma in modern times with a voice of honesty, clarity, and incisive wisdom on each and every page. Enjoy this treasure.

This book is pure joy! I was inspired from start to finish. She passionately shares her joys and sorrows to 'enlighten' and uplift us. If she can overcome such pain and frustration, then so can the rest of us!