A Young Journalist Chronicles His Odyssey Toward Enlightenment in ‘All Our Waves Are Water’ [REVIEW]

In his new memoir, All Our Waves Are Water, Jaimal Yogis takes us on his journey to understand the divine.
(Photo courtesy Jaimal Yogis, Facebook)

At 16, Jaimal Yogis sought enlightenment through surfing, longing to connect to the universe on a spiritual level. In All Our Waves Are Water, he’s in his 20s, still trying to fill the void in his life. His quest takes us on a globetrotting journey to India and beyond, where he learns about friendship, understanding, and how to heal his heart. 

Harper Wave

At a monastary in Dharamsala, Jaimal meets a displaced Tibetan named Sonam. Jaimal tries to help his new friend reconnect with his family, but fails miserably. Still, Sonam refuses to give up, and it is this persistent quality that Jaimal admires most. Never before has he known someone with such unflinching courage and faith, and these attributes serve to inspire our young nomad.

Jaimal’s odyssey leads him around the globe, where he makes stops in Indonesia, New York City, Jerusalem, and finally at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach. His trek isn’t in vain, however. Somewhere between visiting remote ashrams in India and embracing the tides of the Pacific, Jaimal comes to realize the world doesn’t always operate the way he might want it to, that a meaningful connection to the divine is more attainable than it may seem, and that sometimes failure to discover explanations to life’s biggest mysteries is the direct result of asking all the wrong questions.

All Our Waves Are Water is a worthy follow-up to Jaimal’s first memoir, Saltwater Buddha. More than a tale about religion and faith, this is a story about one man’s journey to self discovery and what lengths he must go to find his place in the universe. Deftly told and courageously written, this is a book which reminds readers that it is okay not to know the answers to every question all the time, that the greatest gift of all is self awareness, and that each of our lives are ultimately interconnected even when we forget all of humanity is on this sojourn together. Written by one of our strongest, most thoughtful writers today, All Our Waves Are Water is a valiant, existential narrative that is powerful, touching, funny, uplifting, and leaves readers pondering their own lives long after the last page is turned.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jaimal Yogis
(Photo by Peter Dawson)

Jaimal Yogis is an award-winning writer, outdoorsman, and frequent teacher. He is the author of the memoir Saltwater Buddha, which has been made into a feature documentary film, and The Fear Project: What Our Most Primal Emotion Taught Me About Survival, Success, Surfing… and Love. 

A graduate of the Columbia Journalism School, he has written for ESPN The Magazine, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Magazine, The Surfers Journal, and many other publications.

When Jaimal’s not writing or out to sea, he teaches meditation, mindfulness, and creative writing at places like Spirit Rock, The Writing Pad, Kripalu, and 1440 Multiversity. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Amy, and their three sons. Visit him online at his home on the Web, like him on Facebook, and follow him on Twitter and Google+.

ALL OUR WAVES ARE WATER
By Jaimal Yogis
272 pgs. Harper Wave. $25.99

You may purchase All Our Waves Are Water at one of these fine online retailers: HarperCollins, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

All Our Waves Are Water is brought to you in association with TLC Book Tours.