20190314_163526.jpgToday I have a review of The Buddha Sat Right Here by Dena Moes. This beautiful book is available now and recently won the Gold Medal, 2019 Independent Publisher Award for Travel. Thank you to Caitlin Hamilton Summie Publicity and Marketing for the invitation to review.

My Thoughts:

Dena and Adam are a charismatic couple with children. Dena works long hours as a midwife and is struggling to find the work/life/mom balance. Adam is a Buddhist yogi. Bella is fourteen and grappling with being a teenager, while Sophia is easy to convince. 

Convince of what, you might ask? Oh, the Moes decide to leave real life behind and garner backpacks to travel to India and Nepal for an eight month journey. 

They traveled to see the Dalai Lama, the tree where Buddha sat, and into the arms of Amma. 

The Moes are on a spiritual quest away from the throes of modern life. Do they find what centers them?

Dena Moes’ story is refreshing and inspiring. She doesn’t speak for her daughters, but instead allows each of them to contribute to the book, too. I love that! Also of note is that one of her daughters has dyslexia, and Dena includes her letters written in her own hand, unaltered. This choice endeared me to Dena all the more. 

The Buddha Sat Right Here is a breathtaking story taking on this family’s deeply personal, authentic, epic adventure, a journey of sacrifice reaping huge rewards. There’s a search for meaning here, and what do they find? You’ll have to read it to find out. Gorgeous! 

I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own. 


Dena was a busy midwife trapped on the hamster wheel of working motherhood. Adam was an eccentric Buddhist yogi passing as a hard-working dad. Bella was fourteen and wanted to be normal. Sophia was up for anything that involved skipping school. Together, they shouldered backpacks, walked away from their California life of all-night births, carpool schedules, and Cal Skate, and criss-crossed India and Nepal for eight months―a journey that led them to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the tree where the Buddha sat, and the arms of Amma the Divine Mother. From the banks of the Ganges to the Himalayan roof of the world, this enthralling memoir is an unforgettable odyssey, a moving meditation on modern family life, and a spiritual quest, written with humor and honesty―and filled with love and awe.

Have you read The Buddha Sat Right Here, or is it on your TBR? Happy Reading! ~ Jennifer THR