Our Take

Ann Tashi Slater has written a book that feels both timeless and urgently needed for our moment of perpetual disruption and uncertainty. Traveling in Bardo succeeds because Slater resists the temptation to oversimplify or Westernize Tibetan Buddhist teachings for easy consumption. Instead, she honors their complexity while making them accessible, showing how bardo's framework for understanding transition applies to everything from career changes to grief to creative blocks. What distinguishes this from generic mindfulness books is Slater's personal authority—her Tibetan-American heritage gives her unique perspective on these teachings, and her decades of engagement with Buddhism in Western contexts allows her to translate concepts without diluting them. The book's structure mirrors its subject matter, moving fluidly between memoir, philosophy, and practical guidance. Slater's prose is luminous and meditative without being precious, creating space for readers to reflect on their own experiences of transition and loss. She doesn't promise that understanding bardo will make change painless, but rather that it can make change meaningful—a crucial distinction. The sections on creativity and work are particularly valuable, applying bardo wisdom to domains often overlooked in spiritual literature. For readers who appreciated When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön or The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts, Traveling in Bardo offers similar depth with fresh perspective. This is contemplative writing at its finest—wise, generous, and transformative.