About this project

Eight years ago Lee Carlson was a successful freelance writer, known for writing about travel and outdoor adventure. His personal life, however, wasn’t so wonderful. His mother had fallen down a flight of basement stairs and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. He was in the midst of a difficult divorce. Then he woke up in a hospital intensive care unit. He had been hit by a car and suffered his own traumatic brain injury. He ended up living on his father’s couch, spending every day in rehab, every night helping to care for his mother. It was a difficult time.

And yet, and yet...

It was a chance for a new beginning, a new, better life, a passage to nirvana.

Every year 1.4 million people in the U.S. sustain a Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI, almost the same number as are diagnosed with cancer. Yet their story remains largely untold. The personal, financial and psychological toll on survivors and families is staggering. “Passage to Nirvana” is a memoir from someone who has been both a caregiver and a survivor; it is a story of loss, discovery, healing and hope. It is a story that needs to reach a wider audience.

But “Passage to Nirvana” is not just a memoir about TBI. It’s about Zen, sailing, poetry, families—it’s even got a little sex. “Passage to Nirvana” is about finding peace in spite of a traumatic life event, whether it be the illness or death of a loved one, a divorce, or a debilitating disease. At some point, we are all faced with life’s traumas, and what we do when that happens is the great question.

Lee Carlson turned to what he knew best: writing. He started writing really short poems, taking baby writing steps, and a new kind of poetry was born. Shorter than haiku, he calls these poems "po." But these poems ended up being more than just baby steps, they had a beauty all their own. Eventually he wrote short reflections to accompany them, and a book was born. “Passage to Nirvana” is a testimony to the healing power of words.

A PERSONAL NOTE FROM LEE CARLSON:
Hello, and thanks for considering to be a patron of "Passage to Nirvana."

The money being raised will help pay for cover design, expanding the website, publishing the book in paperback, hardcover, ebook and podcast, and marketing and PR. The funds will not cover everything that needs to be done, but it will be a great “kickstarter” and your generous help will be greatly, greatly appreciated. Please visit www.passagetonirvana.com to read sample chapters and sign up for our mailing list. It’s a good book, it’s got good karma, and it will do good work, raising awareness of Traumatic Brain Injury and helping people find their own path to nirvana. And perhaps best of all, you're supporting the art of writing, the art of creating books.

If we raise more than the target amount, that will allow us to do more to promote the book and get it more quickly into alternative formats (expanded ebook and audio). The time window to raise the money is short, since I would like to get the book published in time for the summer reading season. So if you’re interested in helping fund “Passage to Nirvana,” please don’t delay. And tell everyone you know!

Thank you for your time and interest,
--Lee Carlson