THE RECOVERING MATERIALIST

A young Finlander’s evolving existential crisis inspires a memoir of a spiritual search for meaning.

Early on in Mäkinen’s remembrance, a Hindu monk, whom the author calls “the Laughing Buddha,” crams a book into the teenage author’s bike-pack at a grocery store in the 1990s. The book of Indian philosophy, called The Science of Life, sets him on a path away from the material world, which he always felt was wrong for him. For a few years, hones his punk credentials in various bands, keeping his fiancée, Eija, and his family at arm’s length: “I’ve decided to make art my religion and religion my side hobby,” he writes. He was in college studying graphic arts when he heard a spiritual teacher, “the Swami,” give a talk at a friend’s house. He was inspired enough to follow the Swami to Mendocino County, California, after he invited him to become a monk at the small Audarya monastery. There, the group consisted only of the Swami; his closest student, Vrindaranya; older monk Citta Hari, and now Mäkinen. The author’s new name, Gurunistha, meant “servant with unshakeable faith.” His punk friends back in Finland called him Guru-nisti: nisti is Finnish slang for a heroin addict. There lies the real conflict of the book: Is Mäkinen addicted to materialism or is he attempting to reach an unreachable spiritual goal? The chapters admirably work as set-pieces within the narrative to help answer that question, weaving memories of Mäkinen’s childhood and teen years with monastery challenges. The precise prose is filled with memorable moments, such as Mäkinen’s first night at Audarya, where he says the ghost of his grandmother appeared to help him unpack: “Slowly, I take out another item and another and another until the suitcase is empty and she’s gone.” In a simple but deep way, Mäkinen unpacks his life for readers to see—and they may find, when they get to the end, that they’re inspired to do the same.

An accessible debut that offers a sure-footed walk down a wide spiritual path.