BUFFALO LIGHTS: Maryland to New Mexico

Subtitled "Tales from an American Journey," sections of the 44-chapter book include Maryland, My Maryland; New Mexico Project; San Cristobal; Hard Journeys; Taos; and Awakenings. From the back cover:

"'If it's snowing in the sunshine, the devil is beating his wife.' That's what the locals say, and after six years of struggle and adventure in the terrible beauty of northern New Mexico, writer John H. Farr is ready to believe in anything except complacency. The eagle screams just before the new millennium, when John and his wife leave everything they know in Maryland to make a living via modem in what turns out to be the frontier, before the dot.com boom goes bust. Mud, fire, drought, and freezing cold are nothing compared to the inner landscape of the soul. Careening from perilous insight to joy and back again, he finds his own soul laid bare against the mountains and the clear blue skies. Written with spirit, humor, and compelling honesty, the still unfolding saga will touch your heart and shake your world."

At age 55 the author and his wife, a college professor, trade burn-out for glory on a pure leap of faith. After years of the life of an artist at their country home on the Eastern Shore, John finds work as an Internet columnist and editor to fill in the gap while she turns to her music. Seeking a new life where Nature as teacher stands out above all, he focuses narrowly on making the break. What neither of them realizes, however, is how chaotic their once-settled life will become, for this is no "retirement" strategy, and the edge is a dangerous place. Homesickness and financial uncertainty strain their relationship. The wilderness experience demands full attention. Life in a high mountain village in the Sangre de Cristos bears no resemblance to the world they left behind, and New Mexico is famous for plans not working like they would elsewhere. In the 21st-century American Southwest, there's a bull in the window and a rat under the bed. John and his wife dodge gunshots at Christmas, sink in mud to the axles, and find human bones in the dirt. Along the way he meets a shaman, sacred clowns, belly dancers, Buddhist monks, knife-toting tough guys, a guru mechanic, Jesus himself, and the devil's own dogs.

The anarchic freedom of el Norte is both a wild holy secret and reason to dread, but the energy is addictive. An anonymous reader wrote, "Thank you for writing about things that matter." This book may change the way you think about your life, and a sequel is already in the works.