In Being Selfish we meet Sarah facing a second unplanned pregnancy at the age of twenty-two. Her conservative Jewish, politically liberal, middle-class American upbringing fails to provide her with meaningful comfort or guidance.

Depressed and disillusioned, she sets out on a twenty-year pilgrimage to explore sex, God, and herself. Her forays into orthodox Judaism, the sex trade, and new age spirituality don’t satisfy the depth of her longing for authenticity.

Then she meets Sam, a New York baby boomer turned monk. living a life unplugged from society in remote rural Oregon. When Sarah realizes what Sam is up to, she abandons her career, friends, and family to dive into a disciplined life of meditation, yoga, fasting, and silence.

It wasn’t her original intention to spend a decade in isolation, but that’s what it took for Sarah to discover who she really is, though not without paying a price.

Sarah Marshank