Going Nuts in Kaua'i - Love, Humor and Spirituality

by Rhaya Celestyne, Hami Otaki (Illustrator), Sheri Majewski (Illustrator)

Fiction, spiritual/metaphysical, non-violent, slight content on sex and nudity.

Adventure does not need to be life-threatening and adrenaline-pumping. There could be plenty of adventure in simply finding out who you truly are.
When a woman goes to the tropical island of Kaua'i looking for a quiet life and hoping to meet the man of her dreams, she finds those things, and much, much more. Her path leads to extraordinary surprises, a crash "coarse" in spirituality, and the discovery of other worlds that surround us all.
Written with a light touch, Going Nuts in Kaua'i is about how fascinating a simple life can be when you see things beyond the ordinary.
Although the central theme is a romance with mentor Zen, and the woman learns initially about the island, nature and spiritual life through his eyes, as she accepts that this is not the long term committed relationship for which she yearns, a plethora of other resources manifest, including many healers, dreams and revelations about her past lives. It is a quest for finding love and forgiveness within herself, and accepting change as a positive step toward happiness.


Copy from a 5-star review on Amazon:

Great little book, quick read ...about spiritual journey, human feelings set in Kauai, HAWAII
Format: Paperback
Kauai is sometimes known as the Healing Island...where people come to heal, to discover the meaning of life, in times of search or transition...It is a fitting setting. There seems a kind of undercurrent of magic in the story line as there is in the island (which this reviewer knows) itself. And this thread of magic alongside beautifully described, charming ordinariness off everyday life & survival, encounters and human feelings and emotions....candid dialogues and wonderful descriptions of a beautiful island. through the eyes of the main character, the reader meets some very interesting people, particularly the mysterious Zen who is the prime impact on her, a middle aged woman, who is not described nor given a name, perhaps enhancing the feeling of looking and experiencing through her eyes... It is a real-life spiritual journey, with loneliness, torment, joys, dreams, visions, survival struggles. This woman, to a greater or lesser extent the writer herself , i would guess (but who knows to what extent fiction and to what extent fact!? in any case,...) she works through the ingrained, strong and painful desire for a human soulmate or savior, in this case focused on the enigmatic Zen, to come to a higher, deeper place within herself of more self-sufficiency and independence. I found the ending a bit odd and wonder what other readers thought (?) I do hope the author is continuing to keep diaries and will treat us to a sequel as she leaves this reader with tantalizing feeling that the journey is on-going. I would recommend this book not only for those on a spiritual search, but also anyone who just wants an interesting good read and anyone interested in Kauai. I give it 5 stars. I like the cover and the layout etc too. Hope the kindle is as good as the paperback.

268 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2013

About the author

Used to live in the corporate world as a secretary/language translator, mother and home owner.
Then I moved to Kaua'i, and my mind opened up to a larger picture of our world and my heart found its home.
Even with diversity in everyday life, Loving, Living, being Happy, learning Gratitude.

Reviews

[Zrinka Jelic · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a deeper meaning to this book and my review probably only touching the surface. I enjoyed reading this book although it's quiet different from my usual genre. I'm not sure what genre this book would fall into. But since this is a story about falling in love and learning to let go, I would categorized it as a inspirational or spiritual romance. A divorced woman moves to Kaua'i and after some unsuccessful online dating, she meets Zen, not his real name. They quickly start to date and fall in love. They go places and do random things, he makes her laugh.

So the book ends with her eventually coming out on the other side of her spiritual journey as accepting that her love for Zen will only remain as friendship. That he really doesn't belong to anyone and she (kind of) learned to let go. She seems to know what she must do, yet can't bring herself to do it. He was the kind of guy that got under her skin and she loved him deeply. And I'm sure we all met that one person we know it's a bad apple yet we could't let go. But in a way he was good her in one aspect. He taught her how to survive with very little she's still hung up on Zen even when "guided" to confront him about her feelings for him, she can't bring herself to do so.

[Franky Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this through the sweepstakes! A light hearted story about an adventure into different world, different lifestyle and inner journey. At times it reads like a diary. This book cannot be viewed as a book about spirituality if anyone is looking for something specific in this topic. A lot of the content goes into what the main character went through and the dialogues with another person.