I grew up in the cleft of a Cotswold valley on the edge of Bath, England. Living in the shadow of an ancient stone circle, I always felt us to be creatures with one foot in this world and one in another, less visible one. To weave these two realms – this gritty world of action and the world of silence, imagination, and being – into one cloth, rich with meaning, is what I feel we are here for. Poetry, art, meditation and also travel have given me a language for this experience of a life deeply felt, and also an entry directly into it.
Castle Combe, near Bath, England
I have led contemplative journeys all over the world: walking in silence through the Sahara Desert, and through Death Valley; following the pilgrim route down the Ganges; to the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh, and to the great artistic sites of Italy. I have written feature articles on the arts for The Guardian newspaper in the UK and have been an interviewer for BBC radio. I moved from my native England to the Bay Area in 1998, and now greatly enjoy running six-week classes on Writing the Inner Life: Finding Your Authentic Voice in and around Marin County.
My first book was published in 1990, and as of 2010, I have published nineteen books. One of my recent works, Seven Sins For a Life Worth Living, is an unusual reflection on the nature of pleasure, including the pleasure of doing nothing – “the creative pause” – and the pleasure of not being perfect. Maria Sharapova, the tennis star, has called it “one of the most inspirational books I have ever read.” My work has been featured many times in The Oprah Magazine, in The New York Times, and in the Los Angeles Times. I now live in Marin County, over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.
View from Roger’s door in Sausalito.
