"Threads of Awakening"" reveals the intricacies and richness of the appliqué tradition. I am sure it will enhance appreciation for our unique artistic traditions." — His Holiness the Dalai Lama

"Rinchen-Wongmo, a textile artist and instructor, offers an engaging work about her multiyear sojourn to India that culminated in her learning to make Tibetan Buddhist cloth artworks known as thangkas and meeting the Dalai Lama. The author tells of how she volunteered to help members of the Tibetan exile community in Dharamsala, India, in the early 1990s; over the ensuing years, she became a student of traditional Tibetan Buddhist fabric art. After finding one and then another teacher willing to train an outsider, she eventually went from student to practitioner and teacher; along the way, she received blessings and instruction from the Dalai Lama himself on how to best practice the craft. The book includes black-and-white photos of the author and her travels, full-color photos of thangkas (by the author and her teacher Dorjee Wangdu), and instructions on the basics of the craft, along with a glossary of terms at the end of the book. Rinchen-Wongmo tells an intriguing story, although it’s not clear at the outset whether it’s intended as a memoir or instruction manual. . . . the narrative threads eventually weave together in a sensitive work that considers Rinchen-Wongmo’s difficulties navigating Tibetan culture in her quest to learn a new art. Along the way, it effectively delves into the Buddhist thought that she incorporated into her worldview along the way." — Kirkus Reviews

"When you discover the spiritual practice that resonates with you, it is always fresh and completely personal—even if that practice is more than 500 years old and connected to a vastly different culture from your own. So it was for Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo when she trekked to India and discovered the sacred art of Tibetan appliqué, a discipline that also transmits essential Buddhist teachings, stitch by stitch. Deeply personal, learned, and genuine, this is a beautiful memoir of spiritual self-discovery." — Susan Piver, NYT best-selling author of nine books"