I was inspired to read Lisa Napoli's book 'Radio Shangri-La' having visited recently opened Tibetan areas of Nepal in 1981, as well as spending a month in the Thamel district of Kathmandu. My personal favorite book of that trip was James Joyce's 'Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man' - a decidedly different phase of life from that of the author's.
'Radio Shangri-La' is, more than anything else, about reinventing oneself at mid-life. Though it is set in a country wrapped in mysticism, the book is anything but that - realistic as well as refreshingly honest.
Napoli's voice is one part Jon Krakauer writing a self-help book, one part Joan Cusack switching roles with Jack Black in 'School of Rock', and, most importantly, one part the realistic observations of a seasoned 40 something journalist who witnessed closely the emergence of new media in the US prior to her experiences in Bhutan on the eve of the Monarchy led transition to Democracy.
P.S. HBO has a new show out that deals with many of these same themes, the NPR interviews regarding same were just last night.http://www.npr.org/2011/10/10/140950031/hbos-enlightened-take-on-modern-meditation
