Rebirth: A Fable of Love, Forgiveness, and Following Your Heart Hardcover – January 3, 2017

Ernst F. Schumacher, that brilliant economic-philosopher, once wrote, “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” That opposite direction is what you’ll find in REBIRTH, and with it the “touch of genius” Schumacher referred to.Reading Ravikant’s prose felt like being home from the first line on. I found myself slipping into its rhythm instantly and effortlessly. It is simple writing, easy to read — but the simplicity is deceptive: there’s serious craft here under the hood. Just when I think the narrative is going to tip over into being overly ethereal, it brings me some homey, mundane image, and I smile, pulled right down to earth again. The baton-passing between shorter sentences and longer, the shift back and forth from plain-spoke statements to phrases that are more elliptically suggestive … there’s well honed skill at work here, and it’s beautiful to read.Here’s an example. At the center of the Prologue there’s a passage that serves as the pivot point around which the whole Prologue turns, the turning of Amit’s thoughts and intention from what has already happened to him, to what’s now in front of him. Amit has just asked a monk, “How do you find peace?” The monk doesn’t answer right away. First:“He is solemn for a moment, then smiles the biggest, warmest smile. Behind him, far in the distance, are sharp-edged mountains. I feel like they must when sunlight envelops them after a cold, winter night.”The essential wisdom of the story presents itself a few paragraphs later, in the monk’s reply: “To all that happens, I say ‘yes.’” In a lesser piece of writing, that pointed, explicit bit of insight would just be dumped out on the table. Plop! Instead, a beautiful place is set for it first—the speaker imagining how mountains feel, no less!—so that by the time it’s spoken, the reader accepts it without hesitation. Wonderful stuff. And the rest of the book goes from there: more beautiful story, couched in more beautiful writing.

On the surface, Rebirth tells the tale of a man’s 550-mile trek through Spain. The main character does fine moving forward physically. Spiritually, not so much. Until he meets up with strangers who help him understand how true peace comes from walking the line of acceptance and forgiveness.Oh, he fights his past along the way. The internal battles have worn on who he is. The beauty in Kamal’s writing style is its raw simplicity. The words, thoughts move along mellow but then punch the readers with a dose of awareness they may use in their daily travels.The resistance of the main character is gently, intelligently chiseled away. It’s very tough for a writer to maintain this cadence and keep a reader engaged. Kamal accomplishes this.As pages are read, you feel the character’s slow emergence to find his personal meaning and acknowledge the human catalysts that have helped him reach a spiritual destination.Kamal has a gift for story-telling. Entwined in this fable are life lessons and his story - the consistent torment of a man to find peace which culminates in actions the main character takes to heal and quell the internal demons of his past.One concept I love is the “thin space.” The place where separation between this plane and another is thin enough to breach. If a reader steps back, lives in the moment, they’ll be able to detect a thin place. For me, it’s a patch of sky above tips of tall pines. It’s a way to connect to the universe.This book is a labor of love. You feel it on every page. It’s an easy read. It moves along at a steady cadence although the experiences and lessons are intense. It’s as if Kamal wants us to slowly absorb words of personal healing as pages are turned.My personal takeaways - If a man can grind stone into colorful, sparkling works of art, an individual has the ability to re-ignite the warmth of heart, perhaps a color of life lost long ago, and use that newfound awareness to live a richer life in the present.Can you be a wanderer and be still at the same time? It's only through stillness and awareness do you become not just a wanderer, but an effective nagivator of a life.I hope we see more work like this from Kamal in the future.Filled with fiction born from reality.

This story is very uplifting and allows one to see how a commitment to an experience like walking the Camino can change your experience and your point of view. Having interactions with others in the process of self-discovery can be eye opening. A good read!

I truly enjoyed the Rebirth. As a person who doesn't get to travel much, I like to experience new places through stories, and this book definitely hit the spot. A well written, easy to get lost in, collection of recollections, from both childhood and adolescence, is skillfully displayed along the road adorned with yellow arrows. This book is also a gentle reminder of simple life wisdom. It seems a rather short read at first, but it might take longer to finish than expected. I read it twice, I may say, because every time I stumbled on a pearl of wisdom, I had to carefully re-read it and ponder. I recommend the Rebirth to anyone who wants to lose oneself in a beautiful fable. The only problem was… I didn't want the story end the way it did, so suddenly, but maybe it's a clever cliffhanger to a sequel ;)

Life changing wisdom

A wonderfully written book.

Amit's journey begins on the banks of the river Ganges in India and ends at the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain.Along the way, we meet a whole host of fascinating characters, from a buddhist monk in Dharamsala at the foothills of the Himalayas to a French sailor afraid of the sea. Each one on their own personal journey, navigating their way through life. Their paths converge on the ancient pilgrimage route of the Camino de Santiago and the result is a tale of remarkable fecundity.For me, the jewel at the heart of this beautifully written book is the touching love story between Kat and Julian. A love which is at once beguiling and deeply natural. And a story which is both unexpected and deeply authentic, free of the usual romantic tropes or cliches.As I read the book, I quite often found myself pausing from time to time, thinking about what I had just read and drawing parallels to similar situations in my own life.All in all, a profoundly spiritual read, which stays with you long after you put the book down.

I am a fan of Kamal's work - his two previous books "Love Your Life Like Your Life Depends On It" and "Live Your Truth" both changed how I looked at myself and my life and had a profound positive impact on my well-being. So I am biased - I couldn't wait to get this third book, "Rebirth." And boy, he delivered. The book on its surface just describes his pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago - the people he meets, the thoughts and insights he has, and the inner changes he experiences. The process I underwent while reading was most impressive: I felt like walking the path together with him and changing together with him. And in the end I guess that is what I really did, because we all are on the journey, we all are human, and we all have so much in common. This book is a treasure. I salute Kamal for his courage in opening his inner being and sharing his growth and wisdom with us. My highest recommendations.

Amazing book about adventure, travel, and life. Read this in 2 days and it really opened my eyes and got me excited to travel alone again. Adventure awaits those who seek magic!