Feed your cult fascination with Chasing Nirvana by Priya Hutner
Priya Hutner first hinted to me about her book-to-be back in October 2024, at the inaugural Tahoe Literary Festival. It was a quick pitch, but boy, was it effective: “I was in a cult, and I’m writing a book about it.”
What a lead-in, right?
Hutner’s Chasing Nirvana: A Seeker’s Story of Love, Loss, and Liberation hit shelves March 3. In it, she shares her experience from the age of 14 to 47 as a member of the Kashi Ashram, an interfaith community with ties to Hinduism and Buddhism that is, as Hutner states, a cult (and still exists today).
“What fascinates people about cults? I think for many of them, it’s out of their reality,” Hutner said. “It’s out of their norm; ‘I would never be in a cult.’ And I would say, everyone’s in a cult of some sort, because it’s about your inherent beliefs … I thought I was helping humanity. I wanted to be enlightened.”
Chasing Nirvana comes from journals Hutner kept during her time, working her way up from a cook to the CEO, in which she became the “worldly” connection to ashram leader Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati (“Ma”).
“When you think about cults in general, you think about control,” Hutner said. “There is an element of control. There’s rules that we have to follow. For me, you were controlled through your diet. You were controlled through your clothing, and you were controlled through sex because we were celibate teaching.”
Hutner added readers might especially enjoy chapter 20 — “That’s where we had a dead body in an RV in the back of the woods and hundreds of people chanting around it. And the sheriff shows up.” Or the chapter where Ma exorcised a woman, or the one with Hutner’s dream (featuring rapper Eminem) that made her realize she needed to get out.
Overall, the book is, in Hutner’s words, a “spiritual adventure story” and a cautionary tale of how humans become hooked.
What is something you hope readers will take away from your book?
“Question everything. Really deeply question everything, including your own beliefs.” ~
~ Priya Hutner about Chasing Nirvana
Chasing Nirvana: A Seeker’s Story of Love, Loss, and Liberation is available at local bookstores and online.
Winter in the High Sierra by Robert Brighton: A cold-out-there-but-
warm-in-here escape into locally-based historical fiction
People enjoy reading fiction because it’s an escape, right? What if that escape came in the form of a massive snowstorm in November 1899 that leaves broken-hearted belle Louisa MacGregor stranded?
Enter rugged but respectful mountain man “Bandit” and his loyal pup, Mutt, to provide Louisa shelter and company until the deadliest winter in 50 years is over. What stems from there is a mutual awe for nature, the ability to process grief and heartache, and a seed of trust that unexpectedly thrives.
Winter in the High Sierra gives a taste of life in our very mountains nearly 130 years ago and shows that a love for these mountains transcends many trials. Think clean romance, immersive settings, and, of course, a love for dogs.
The book has reached Amazon #1 Bestseller status, as well as many accolades from seasoned reviewers. Brighton himself is a long-time historical fiction author, and you can bet he knows his stuff about life and language in the late 19th/early 20th centuries.
As the San Francisco Book Review put it, “Robert Brighton’s Winter in the High Sierra is a beautifully rendered historical romance that immerses readers in the rugged, snowbound wilderness of 1900. With lyrical prose and meticulous historical detail, Brighton crafts a compelling tale of survival, redemption, and unexpected love. This is a thoughtful, deeply human story that lingers long after the final page.”
What is something you hope readers will take away from your book?
“I might say that the message … is encapsulated in my little preface to the book:
‘Whether in the trackless wilderness of the High Sierra, or in the sometimes-bewildering depths of our own hearts and minds, I believe that — while we may wander for quite a while — we are never truly lost, unless and until we give up.’
That message of resilience in the face of hardship — human or natural — rings throughout the book.”
~ Robert Brighton about Winter in the High Sierra
Winter in the High Sierra is available everywhere books are.
Truckee Literary Crawl | April 10-11, 2026
Looking for a day or two of basking in creative literary works from talented folks (for free)?
The second annual Truckee Literary Crawl happens next month throughout downtown Truckee. From fiction to poetry to book lovers of all genres, hundreds will trickle in and out of such venues as galleries, pubs, and theaters to hear more than 40 local and visiting writers read their works aloud. Saturday evening will cap off with an open mic showcase.
The Lit Crawl serves as the springtime companion to the Tahoe Literary Festival, the third annual of which will be held this Oct. 9 and 10 in Tahoe City.
“I think the most important thing for me, personally, is, yeah, you want your keynote, you want to have a draw, [but] I want to shine the light on emerging authors,” co-founder Priya Hutner said. “The publishing industry — they want their money. They want to do celebrity. I understand that. Some people have gotten picked out of a slush pile, but it’s so hard. That’s how the Truckee Lit Crawl got born from this festival. I’m like, well, let’s just crawl around and have people read their stuff and let’s have it be free.”
A necessity with celebrating such arts is finding funding for them. Hutner says she and fellow co-founder Katherine Hill are constantly on the lookout for additional funding opportunities. “All of the arts are suffering because of our current administration,” she said, referring to such actions under the Trump Administration as canceling and terminating National Endowment for the Arts grants. “But, we have a lot of money in this community. How do we find that?”
To learn more, attend, donate, or volunteer at the Lit Crawl, click here.
(Pssst — Alex, the writer of this column, will be reading one of her own recently published short stories at this event!)
