It often takes a crisis to see what a life’s shape has been, to learn what really matters. For Peter J. Conradi, acclaimed biographer of Iris Murdoch, the moment came in 1982. This is his account of the life-journey on which he subsequently embarked; a self-help book for cynics, it makes clear that "going Buddhist" is neither a quick fix nor a one-shot deal. Drawing on his conversations with Murdoch, and the remarkable letters they exchanged, Conradi seeks to explain the beauty of Buddhism—a religion increasingly relevant to Westerners. Peter Conradi's recent books include the widely hailed Iris Murdoch: A Life.