Long Quiet Highway

February 28, 2000
This tape chronicles Goldberg's lifeDfrom her middle-class Jewish roots on Long Island to her early days as a writing teacher to her 12-year relationship with Zen master Katagiri Roshi. After finishing college, Goldberg moved to the Southwest, where she began to write, teach and search for some spiritual connection outside of Judaism. She ended up marrying her college boyfriend and moving to his hometown, Minneapolis. Although the marriage didn't last, Goldberg began her Zen studies there with the legendary roshi. Katagiri's impact on Goldberg and her writing is so significant that even many years after his death, she finds it difficult to believe that he's no longer living. With her distinctive nasal "New Yawk" accent, Goldberg ambles from her childhood to her days as an inexperienced teacher overwhelmed by her students to her demanding studies at the Zen Center. Because this is such an intimate story, Goldberg's narration seems particularly emotional and heartfelt. However, listeners who aren't interested in Zen or those unfamiliar with Goldberg's writings may grow weary during this meandering audio book. Based on the 1993 BDD hardcover.