From best selling author Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones), here is the story of her life as a spiritual seeker struggling to "free the writer within," a vividly told odyssey that takes you from the 1950s schoolyards of Long Island to the high plains of Taos to the Zen temples of Japan. Threaded with the story of Goldberg's 12-year relationship with legendary Zen master Katagiri Roshi, Long Quiet Highway illustrates the challenges - and rewards - that unfold when a Western student seeks a teacher of Eastern wisdom. As she puts it, "In the West, a teacher imparts knowledge to a student. In the East, a teacher transmits not more or less than his or her being." In a never-before-published interview, Goldberg describes the process of finding the right teacher, and speaks out about the problems that can arise from this uniquely close relationship.Observant and relentlessly honest, Long Quiet Highway starts out as a reflection on the people, places, and experiences that helped Natalie Goldberg discover the transformational power of writing. Soon it crystallizes into a greater work - a winding koan that cuts through sentiment to get at the truth of the spiritual life and the discipline needed to achieve it.