Paldrom spent five years immersed in the paradigm-altering world of a traditional Tibetan Buddhist monastery and retreat center.

Her memoir recounts that time—how, as a Western seeker, she entered monastic training and encountered both the beauty and the complexities of life within an ancient spiritual tradition.

Through these experiences, she began to question many of the assumptions she brought with her about enlightenment, devotion, and the nature of spiritual transformation.

She now offers spiritual direction and writes and speaks about spiritual life, contemplation, and finding refuge in ordinary experience.

She lives with her husband in California’s San Francisco Bay Area.

Her work explores spiritual longing, devotion, disillusionment, and the unfolding experience of being human.