Well, let’s start with the description from the back cover of the book. That’s as good a place as any:

One part deeply personal memoir and two parts rip-snorting spiritual adventure,
LONG TIME NO SEE is a powerfully moving, occasionally profane and often hilarious account of one person’s single-minded search for enlightenment.

Carrie Triffet’s true-life journey takes her from reluctant orthodox Jewish beginnings into a devout twenty-year practice of Nichiren Buddhism. Intending to remain a Buddhist for life, she is wholly unprepared when a profound awakening in 2005 unexpectedly changes everything, leading her insistently into a life beyond religion.

Join her on this fascinating odyssey that begins in the Midwest and travels to sunny Southern California by way of London, Paris and the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona; learn the metaphysical lessons offered by a swanky Vegas hotel room, a past life crime scene, and a ferocious lightning storm at 30,000 feet (among many others), as Carrie relays the messages of universal truth that she is given to share with us all.

That gives the basic idea.

What it doesn’t say is that for the past 23 years I’ve been hearing a Voice. This Voice was the reason I began my Buddhist practice, and many years later, the reason I ended it.

After the 2005 awakening, I was gradually led to a practice of A Course in Miracles. During this same period the “communication pipeline” with the Voice widened greatly, making easy, 2-way conversation possible. It was this Voice (which I refer to as “Spirit”) that said:

WHEN YOU’RE READY, YOU’LL WRITE BOOKS.

There was a certain amount of argument over the exact meaning of “when you’re ready,” but eventually I agreed to start writing this book, with the understanding that I wouldn’t have to pretend to be an expert on anything.

I would just tell my own remarkable story in my own semi-profane words, and Spirit would handle the rest. And that’s pretty much how it’s worked out. I supply the wildly entertaining spiritual experiences, and Spirit provides long, beautiful (and equally entertaining) conversations about the true nature of all reality.

Many of these conversations come in the form of easy-to-understand explanations of the principles behind A Course in Miracles. These discussions are prompted by normal stuff I was struggling with in daily life at the time; the conversations help make relatable, everyday sense out of some otherwise difficult spiritual concepts in a way that I’m fairly sure has never been done before. Because we delve so deeply into A Course in Miracles’ subject matter, I realized it might be helpful to include a brief synopsis of the Course itself for those who are unfamiliar with its teachings. So I wrote a short summary of the Course called The Crash Course, which is included at the back of the book.

LONG TIME NO SEE can be enjoyed whether you’re familiar with A Course in Miracles or not. But to derive optimal richness of meaning from Spirit’s gentle lessons, a reader might find it helpful to peruse The Crash Course for a better understanding of the context in which these lessons are presented.