Never give up, especially not on yourself.

Blissful Thinking is the sweeping story of L.L. Kirchner's search for nirvana that took her from university halls in the Persian Gulf to the streets of Manhattan to a sex cult in India.

Between her family's gym and the years she'd spent in substance abuse recovery, Kirchner felt versed in physical and spiritual wellness. But when her husband demanded a divorce over the phone, she feared a return to her addictions.

Forced to confront the fact that her painful family dynamics remained unresolved, the author embarked on a spiritual journey to regain her trust in the universe. She tried yoga, meditation, chanting - all the things meant to cultivate bliss. Each brought some relief, but it wasn't until she visited a psychic that she knew her life had changed.

In a memoir that's both rapturous and page-turning, Kirchner captures the terrors and joys of searching for radical honesty - and a second date.