Learning to Eat Along the Way

In this readable if myopic spiritual memoir, journalist Bendet describes her dissatisfaction with her busy job at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and what she comes to realize is a failing marriage. She begins taking yoga and meditating, which leads her to join the pack of followers of an unnamed swami. The resulting book is a tell-all without telling all, which leaves uninitiated readers with little to carry interest as Bendet travels from one place to another following the swami. Though the swami’s presence brings flashes of “love, bliss, brilliant shards of understanding, exquisite visions of a magical reality,” he never seems adequately described as a character. The narrative leans heavily on recounting Bendet’s time as an ascetic and anorexic, a condition that brings unwanted attention to her after a devotee at a different ashram dies of starvation; ultimately, however, she accepts help from her spiritual community to heal. At times Bendet displays flashes of good journalism and description, but overall her story leaves a bland aftertaste. (Aug.)