Advice from IR Approved Author Mel Pine: “Finding joy through Buddhist practices doesn’t require a pilgrimage to Kathmandu or years of living in a cave. It took me decades, but it needn’t take you as long.”

A Buddhist Path to Joy: The New Middle Way Expanded Edition: Received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.

Following find an interview with author Mel Pine.

1. What is the name of the book and when was it published? “A Buddhist Path to Joy: The New Middle Way Expanded Edition,” pub date October 17, 2025.
2. What’s the book’s first line? “A funny thing happened on the way to my death.”
3. What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch.” Finding joy through Buddhist practices doesn’t require a pilgrimage to Kathmandu or years of living in a cave. It took me decades, but it needn’t take you as long. This book is my end-of-life effort to point the way.
4. What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event? At the age of 78, the low point of my physical and cognitive health so far, I began preparing to die. As a Buddhist, I practiced bringing the Buddha Amitabha into my meditation. He is the creator and overseer of the Pure Land, which would be a great place to end up. (He and the Pure Land may exist as another realm, they may represent archetypes within me, or both. What matters is the effect they have here and now.) In May 2024, Amitabha seemed to tell me: “You have more good to do before you die. Do it! Use your 60 years of experience in writing and editing to share the wisdom that can help others out of suffering.”
5. What’s the main reason someone should really read this book? To find pointers toward spiritual wholeness and a life of joy, regardless of their religious beliefs.
6. When did you first decide to become an author? It’s an interesting question. I spent decades in nonfiction writing—even ghostwrote books for others—but never had the conviction that I had something important to say that needed to be disseminated in a book. That changed when I realized (or Amitabha reminded me) that sharing my spiritual insights before I die might help others.
7. Is this the first book you’ve written? It’s an expansion of the first book, which was published on May 22, 2025. I needed to add what writing and completing that book had taught me.
8. What do you do for work when you’re not writing? I had been retired from the end of 2015 to May 2024, when being an independent writer and publisher became my more-that-full-time job and passion.
9. Would you go traditional if a publisher came calling? If so, why? I would if the arrangement didn’t involve years before publication. As I approach my 80th birthday, I’m not willing to submit to a lengthy process. The plus side, though, would be having an institutional home for my writing that might continue to promote it when I no longer can.