From Mud to Lotus: I Meant to Behave, but There Were Too Many Other Options

By: Dr. Pratibha Eastwood

"From Mud into Lotus is a real page-turner that takes the reader on a roller coaster ride of such epic proportions that one almost forgets it's not fiction. A great read that is reminiscent of the lineage of Anais Nin, it champions tireless and daring explorations of what it means to be culturally, spiritually, and sexually free."

- Sunny Massad, author of Untherapy

"This book will draw you in from the beginning. An insecure, fearful, lonely and neglected child in the mud of Israel becomes a hippie in America, a PhD in psychology, a sannyasin (seeker) in India. She experiments with drugs and therapies and ends up with Osho Rajneesh for a while. From that commune, her adventures take her all over Asia, to the Himalayas, Australia, and back the US. In the end, she comes full circle to reconcile with her estranged parents, having grown into a lotus blossom blessed with Freedom, Trust, and Forgiveness. A great read "

- Roshani Shay Curtis, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Western Oregon University

"Powerful and thought-provoking. . . .Pratibha's nuanced, richly descriptive writing introduced me to places and faces I'll never forget. Such a vividly engaging story. It touched me deeply."

- Lizbeth Hartz, author of Angel Hero: Murder in Hawai'i: A True Story

About the Author

A native of Israel, Dr. Pratibha Eastwood has traveled extensively and lived in India, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and England before moving to Hawaii in 1983. Dr. Eastwood is a licensed clinical psychologist. She is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and taught in the California State at Sacramento's counseling department while providing various workshops to the community, including trauma healing, holistic health, and meditation. A Jungian and Sandplay therapist, Eastwood currently runs a successful private practice. She authored two prior publications: Nine Windows to Wholeness and a play called Aging Is Not For Sissies.