{"product_id":"a-chant-to-soothe-wild-elephants-9780306815263","title":"A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants","description":"Six years ago at the age of twenty-one, Jaed Muncharoen Coffin, a half-Thai American man, left New England's privileged Middlebury College to be ordained as a Buddhist monk in his mother's native village of Panomsarakram--thus fulfilling a familial obligation. While addressing the notions of displacement, ethnic identity, and cultural belonging, \u003ci\u003eA Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles his time at the temple that rain season--receiving alms in the streets in saffron robes; bathing in the canals; learning to meditate in a mountaintop hut; and falling in love with Lek, a beautiful Thai woman who comes to represent the life he can have if he stays. Part armchair travel, part coming-of-age story, this debut work transcends the memoir genre and ushers in a brave new voice in American nonfiction.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJaed Coffin\u003c\/b\u003e holds a B.A. in philosophy from Middlebury College and an M.F.A. from the University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast Writing Program. A boxer, sea-kayaker, and lobster fisherman, he lives in Brunswick, Maine.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Da Capo Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50692632445202,"sku":"9780306815263","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a0b435ea-cbeb-4971-9ff3-8d068bd81a80.jpg?v=1734130270","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-chant-to-soothe-wild-elephants-9780306815263","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}