A Long Quiet Highway by Natalie Goldberg

Summary by Heather Reynolds. Edited by Mark Unno, 3/5/2002.

Natalie Goldberg's autobiographical work begins with stories from her childhood growing up in a Jewish family. This book follows the path that she took to find understanding and the true meaning of her life through writing and Zen Buddhist practice. Broken up into five sections, the book also contains poems from various authors, journal entries, samples of other writing.

In the first section she focuses on her childhood experiences (when she was a "dork") that shaped her life. In the fifth grade she realized that, through a science experiment, "...things change. I touched the transitory nature of life" (9). This is a reoccurring theme throughout the book. The main focus of this book (in a way) is how to write. Writing is her life and she realized (with the help of her Zen master) that writing (like life) is something you just have to keep trying even if you do not feel like it or you want to quit because you are not successful--she asks the question: what is success anyway? "Success is none of our business. It comes from outside" and therefore is no concern of ours (105). In other words, you will not be truly successful if you are so concerned with success. More importantly, whether one receives external, especially professional, recognition or not is ultimately unrelated to the writing life.

The third part of Long Quiet Highway tells the story of the author's budding relationship with Zen coinciding with her marriage and her move to Minnesota. She expresses her frustrations and trials with trying to be a good Zen student (even when her marriage is falling apart). The study of Zen became the focus in her life--not work or relationships. (Yet, learning about relating to the world is an intimate part of Zen practice.)

Part four explains how it felt for the author to leave the harsh winters of Minnesota and return to New Mexico where the sky never seems to end. She describes her struggle trying to write (which is central to her life) and being without her Zen master. She must learn to live without him especially when he is diagnosed and eventually dies of cancer--his death is a test of Zen learning. Did she really learn the teachings of the Buddha or was she dependent on the words and guidance of her master?

Natalie Goldberg talks about moving on after her master's death, in the fifth part of the book. She uses her writing as therapy, as memoir, as a gift. She accepts her role as a teacher to all sentient beings and herself.