Hi all,

FACEBUDDHA is almost here! Thanks for joining me on this journey of a lifetime! (Also see below for a link to Kim Chinh’s Reclaiming Vietnam at the SF Fringe Festival, and links to the Japan Film Fest and KSW's APAture!)

In September, I'll be sending out my exciting animated book trailer by Valerie Mih (seeherestudios.com), as well as links to Amazon and other online retailers.

Please come to my launch event on Monday October 23rd! Also share the event page with your social media and email networks!  I’m totally dependent on word of mouth for my book, which took over 2500 hours of writing, thought and research. I’m looking forward to delivering my book-baby in October - please welcome her into the world with your attendance, purchase and shares :)

FACEBUDDHA: TRANSCENDENCE IN THE AGE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS (www.facebuddha.co)is a combination of rich modern memoir, state-of-the-art exploration of the psychological research on social media, and introduction to Buddhism.  I use the tools of Buddhism (mindfulness and compassion) to explore what happens to the mind and heart as we try to connect online: the good, the bad and the ugly.  Facebuddha is a journey through the wilds of relationships, from a rooftop in Hanoi to a village in India, from the streets of San Francisco to the blue Wall of Facebook, culminating in transformative spiritual experience. Facebuddha will make you smile, laugh and think differently about the world we share.

Facebuddha would be of interest to parents interested in the effects of social media on their children, anyone ambivalent about social media, anyone interested in a deep, fun Asian American memoir, and anyone interested in an engaging cultural analysis of the psychology of technological progress.  “We are who happens to us.”  Who are we becoming as we engage online?

My book launch will include a reading and conversation with former Executive Director of the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco, F.B. Steele, M.D.  Each ticket includes a copy of the hardcover book, nibbles and refreshments.

The book launch will be

Monday, October 23rd
7 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm)
Manilatown Heritage Foundation (co-sponsor)
868 Kearny Street, San Francisco

Tickets at Eventbrite, please share and invite your friends! 

(I’ll also host an open house at my office on Saturday, October 28th from 1-4 pm for those who can’t make it to a weeknight event. Tickets available on the Eventbrite page.)

My reviewers have had some nice things to say about my book:

"Facebuddha is magnificent, a breathtakingly personal work that combines memoir, media commentary, Buddhist practicum and depth psychology. Like Martin Luther’s theses, these chapters are nailed on the door of the Cathedral of Technology asking us to look beyond our screens by way of reforming contemporary indulgences. As we do so our world moves beneath the surface sheen and towards the interior. Ravi Chandra’s effervescent prose locates compassion, in his own soul and in the soul of humanity, in real world relationships endangered by modernity.”  — F.B. Steele, M.D.

"A very personal, often funny, warmly intelligent, thoughtful and heartfelt journey to transcendence!"  – Tamlyn Tomita, actor

"I heartily recommend Facebuddha. I think this book will be inspiring to many, many people." - Sylvia Boorstein, Ph.D., Happiness is an Inside Job

"Facebuddha is a good-hearted meander…that explores deep concern for our modern dilemmas with the perspective of a devoted Buddhist." – Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., A Path with Heart

"An exhortation to cultivate genuine love, kindness, and compassion." – Deann Borshay Liem, director and producer

"Thought-provoking, engagingly written, and enriched by memoir and haiku-like stories and vignettes." – Francis Lu, M.D.

"Poetic and poignant! Ravi Chandra portrays the importance of truly relating to people." – Louise Nayer, author of Burned: A Memoir

"Facebuddha is an invitation to depth and personal growth." – Stephen Gong, Executive Director, CAAM

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Kim Chinh will be performing RECLAIMING VIETNAM at the S.F. Fringe Festival! 

September 8th, 10th, 16th and 17th

Kearny Street Workshop's APAture:  Sept 30-Oct 28

Japan Film Festival: Sept 1-Sept 10