{"product_id":"a-chant-to-soothe-wild-elephants","title":"A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants","description":"\u003cdiv\u003eSix years ago at the age of twenty-one, Jaed Muncharoen Coffin, a half-Thai American man, left New England's privileged Middlebury College to be ordained as a Buddhist monk in his mother's native village of Panomsarakram--thus fulfilling a familial obligation. While addressing the notions of displacement, ethnic identity, and cultural belonging, \u003ci\u003eA Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles his time at the temple that rain season--receiving alms in the streets in saffron robes; bathing in the canals; learning to meditate in a mountaintop hut; and falling in love with Lek, a beautiful Thai woman who comes to represent the life he can have if he stays. Part armchair travel, part coming-of-age story, this debut work transcends the memoir genre and ushers in a brave new voice in American nonfiction.\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Grand Central Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41514398253234,"sku":"9780306815263","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0536\/7418\/0786\/files\/O_1789f5e9-a533-4510-99c7-c3a3e202c691.jpg?v=1769166049","url":"https:\/\/shop.hachettebookgroup.com\/products\/a-chant-to-soothe-wild-elephants","provider":"Hachette Book Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}