Dinner with Buddha: A Novel

If life is a journey—with detours, paths from which to choose, and myriad roadblocks to overcome—then Otto Ringling is most certainly on the journey of a lifetime. His first fifty or so years were pretty good. He felt he had it all, until one day he didn't.

Seeking understanding, he calls on Volya Rinpoche, a wise man and spiritual leader. A man who accepts the world as it comes to him, a man without pride or vanity. But Rinpoche, as it turns out, is experiencing his own time of doubt. In hopes of finding answers to life's mysteries, the two embark on a journey through America, an amusing and enlightening road trip that becomes a lesson in love and gratitude.

"Merullo offers keen insight into and intelligent assessments of modern American life, but it is his compassionate portrait of a grieving Otto in search of inner tranquility that is most affecting." — Booklist "Otto is such a full human, which is why we can empathize with his questions and immerse ourselves in his experiences. In the end, we are all humanized by the spiritual journey of Dinner with Buddha. " —Spirituality and Practice "Merullo masterfully depicts the struggles of practicing mindfulness moment by moment . . . [The] novel is full of nuanced, thoughtful prose and is an immensely satisfying conclusion to the series." — Publishers Weekly