by Emily France
The historical Buddha is thought to have lived sometime between the mid-6th and mid-4th centuries, BCE. Born Siddhārtha Gautama, he was a member of a wealthy family in what is today southern Nepal. His father attempted to keep him from witnessing the harshness of reality (struggle, sickness, death), but when Siddhārtha was finally exposed to these things, he renounced his privileged life and set off to find a way to ease the suffering inherent in the human condition. From physical suffering to existential suffering, the Great Physician was concerned with finding a cure for deep dissatisfaction with life, for dhukha in its many forms.
For forty-nine days, Siddhārtha meditated under what became known as the Bodhi tree, which Puck accurately describes as a ficus religiosa. The Buddha emerged, claiming he had gained insight about the true nature of reality and the suffering that delusion causes: he had reached enlightenment. The Four Noble Truths that begin each section of this novel are some of the main ideas the Buddha shared in his first teaching in Sarnath, India. The first clue that Puck leaves under her mother’s bed—the eight-spoke wheel of the Dharma—is an actual Buddhist symbol used to represent the Buddha’s teachings and his eightfold path.
Right Mindfulness is the aspect of the eightfold path that serves as Puck’s primary focus. If you’d like more information about mindfulness, a great authority is Thich Nhat Hanh, one of the most well-known Zen masters in the world. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he has written many books—some for young people and children—that touch on the topic. My favorite is titled Happiness: Essential Mindfulness Practices. He also founded Wake Up International—a global community of young people who are committed to practicing mindfulness. Participants are Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, all with the goal of creating a healthy and compassionate society. For more information, check out www.wkup.org.
Lastly, there are many branches of Buddhism; the one that Essa and Oliver encounter in Boulder is Zen, and in particular, Soto Zen. Zazen, gathas, and koans can all be used in Soto Zen practice. Zazen is the meditation that Oliver attempts in the Zendo with Essa. Gathas are short verses that help direct attention back to the present moment. Koans are riddles or stories that are intended to confound the rational mind, to bring a student into a direct insight about reality. While they are emphasized more in the Rinzai school of Zen, they are used in the Soto tradition as well when helpful.
As for the wilderness portions of this novel, the game my characters play is not true orienteering. Orienteering is an organized sport in which participants navigate between checkpoints with compasses, maps, and an official timer. For more information see Orienteering USA, www.orienteeringusa.org.
My characters do use actual wilderness survival tools such as the brush shelter, deadfall trap, bow and drill, root rope, rock-and-stick compass, and pine needle tea. However, Essa, Oliver, and Micah harm the woods in many ways—digging up roots, pulling down branches, etc. In reality, when not in an emergency situation, please practice Leave No Trace principals when in the great outdoors so that it will be here to enjoy for many generations to come. For more information see the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, www.lnt.org.
Finally, my characters find themselves in an emergency situation in the woods mostly due to their lack of preparedness. For more information on wilderness safety see the National Forest Service, www.fs.fed.us.
Acknowledgments
I will always believe that I write the books I need to read. This novel was no exception; I wrote it during the most challenging time of my life. Crisis after crisis kept hitting my family over the course of drafting. The practice of zazen and writing this story helped me find joy in the storm, kalpa by kalpa. And the great news: we didn’t capsize.
I would like to thank Gary Hardin, an ordained Soto Zen priest and Head of Practice at the Boulder Zen Center. Thank you for your gentle guidance, your time, and your instruction. You have helped me experience joy and be present with those I love in ways I never knew were possible. And to the Sangha who stopped burning incense during zazen just because I had morning sickness, thank you for your kindness.
To my wonderful editor, Daniel Ehrenhaft, thank you for believing in this story from the very beginning and for your kindness and patience as it came to life. Your guidance and your confidence in me have transformed my writing. Thanks to managing editor Rachel Kowal for going through my novel with such care and attention. Thanks also to the entire team at Soho Teen; I’m so honored to be one of your authors. And special thanks to Juliet Grames, Paul Oliver, Abby Koski, and Rudy Martinez for their support, kindness and general badassery. Come back to Boulder! We have so many restaurants to conquer. And thanks to Paul and Abby for the epic filming adventure in the frigid Denver Botanic Gardens.
This novel would not exist if it weren’t for my indomitable agent, Jennifer Unter. The pep talk you gave me in the eleventh hour of drafting saved the day—and the story. Thank you for believing in me and for shoring me up in one of my toughest hours.
Thanks to the wonderful new owners of the Tattered Cover, Kristen Gilligan and Len Vlahos. Launching my first novel at your magnificent bookstore was a dream come true. Your presence and words that night sparkle in my mind as one of the greatest memories of my debut year.
Thanks to the entire kid lit community of writers in Boulder, Colorado. You are my people. And special thanks to Melanie Crowder for her all-around wonderfulness.
For always reading and never letting me give up, thanks to my critique partner of 15 years, Tara Thomas. I cannot imagine writing without you.
Thanks to my Boulder teen advisors, Berit, Rowan, Griffin, and Colter. You are the coolest, and I’m so lucky to know all of you. Thanks to Wendy for telling me all about The End of the World and her escapades as a Boulder teen. And thanks to the city of Boulder, Colorado, for inspiring me, for being my favorite place on the planet, for being home.
And to my dear friends who surrounded my family with love and brought us dinner every night for two solid months during the worst of the storm: Josie, Joanne, Pam C., Mark, Joyce, Marion, Mary, Olivia, Linda, Liv, Kate, Sylvie, Lisa C., Maggie, Lauren L., Jimmy, Scarlet, Patti, Ann, Sarah, and anyone I’m forgetting! I will treasure your acts of kindness and love for the rest of my life. Heather, we will never forget the call from your husband, “Heather said something about a baby and a dog?” Thank you for rescuing Nala while we brought our baby into the world! We love you. And Joanne, sister-friend, your wit and your wisdom have saved me so many times. I love you to the very tips of my toes. And to Pam Stormo, a joy, a genius, a master of the now, how I miss your light. I will love and stick close to your beautiful family forever.
Thanks to my parents, my sister, my in-laws and the rest of our family who came to our rescue in so many ways. I couldn’t have written another novel without you.
Finally, to my husband, thank you for never letting me give up on my biggest dreams; spending my life with you makes me so profoundly happy. And to my son, being your mother is the greatest joy and honor of my life. Oh, how I love you!