On Tuesdays I'm a Buddhist

by Michael Harding

One day in the summer of 2016, Michael Harding's wife brought an unusual gift home from Warsaw. All of a sudden, he found himself falling back into the old religious devotions of an earlier time. The meaning he had found through years of engagement with therapy began to dissolve.
Here, in On Tuesdays I'm a Buddhist, Harding examines the search for meaning in life which keeps him fastened to the idea of god.

After many therapy sessions focused on an effort to uncover personal truth, and long solitary months on the road with a one man show, Harding is finally led to an artists' retreat in the shadow of Skellig Michael.

Mixing stories from the road with dispatches from his Irish Times columns, On Tuesdays I'm a Buddhist is a spell-binding and powerful book about the human condition, the narratives we weave around the self, and the ultimate bliss of living in the present moment.

'What happens between one story and the next? That's the really interesting part. That's the space where we find bliss; where we float sometimes, suspended, and only for a brief moment. Perhaps only for a few scarce moments in an entire life.'

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

288 pages, Paperback

Published September 6, 2018

Reviews

[G.R. Hewitt]

If you are a Michael Harding fan you will love it.

[Jennifer]

'There are two silences in life', he whispered. 'One is the the silence of a church before a funeral. And the other is the silence of a pub when the guards are outside.'

My parent a bought me this book for Christmas. I had never heard of Michael Harding, but I fell in love quickly. A beautiful and deeply Irish book about the narratives we weave and the meaning (or meanings) of life.

[Gillian]

After seeing Michael reading from his book this evening, I changed my review to 5 stars. He is a brilliant story teller.

[Thady]

My fourth Michael Harding book - i'm a big fan, as are many, of his column in the Irish Times. I've never seen him perform - something i hope to correct in the future. I have mixed feelings about this book - i enjoyed it, there are moments of insight but also a bit of a feeling that it was time for another book and so, here it is. Perhaps the answer is, as Harding suggests, that there is no answer - in which case any book detailing this quest is going to leave one a little empty. Perhaps also, snatches of wisdom are all we can expect in any book.

[Bill FitzGerald]

I love this book. God I make a hopeless book critic but when I like something I gush.

Michael Harding just gets me. I like the spiritual, I’m culturally Catholic, I want to learn more and in est in other religions and this book (as well as his others) has all these amazing little teachings and insights throughout wrapped in with stories describing the Ireland I love.

I went to his show of the same name in Mitchelstown with my mother two Fridays ago and in person he is just as enthralling as on paper.

Main takeaways from the stage play:
- All major religions boil down to if you look out for / after others and love others and aren’t too self focused you will be happy
- He occasionally sees St. Clare and she tells him “Go!” which should be taken as ‘just do it’ so do it!

One of my favorite lines in this book describes how the ritual and prayer offered by religion can push us out to the “freedom of the present moment”.

One I will return to time and time again I’m sure.

[Jess Farrelly]

3.5⭐️
Some beautiful moments of deep thoughts in this book. Some great little flickers of humour but ultimately a book of self reflection and discovery.

[Ciaran Gallagher]

Tell me why I don't like Mondays

Witty, perceptive and ultimately engaging, Hardings voice spins yarn after yarn until finally you're left with a big wooly monster of a buddha! I laughed, I cried and I decided yes this a fine line he walks baring his soul for all and for that we should be grateful.

[Yvonne Condon]

On Tuesdays I’m a Buddhist

I enjoyed reading this book. All in one sitting, on a plane from NYC to Ireland. I could empathise with the character but also wanted to shake him. His dwelling on the past got to repetitive.

[Marie]

My first Michael Harding book but it won't be my last. Totally engaging

[Eilish Dillon]

Really liked this book. Searingly honest. Thought provoking.

[K]

I found this at the thrift store not having heard of the author and thinking it'd be about or at least involve quite a bit about Buddhism and/or mindfulness. I really enjoyed his writing style and his stories and musings on normal life and normal people. Not so much into the god and Jesus and virgin Mary stuff but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

[Jamie Ross]

Got bogged down...

[Sam O' Grady]

A story of one man trying to find his purpose in life. A subject and a question we have all asked ourselves at one point. Trying to find sense in the chaos of it all.

[Gemma]

Took a lot from this. Read in one day (Saturday 6 May) while in Ireland.

[Miriam]

I went to see Michael reading from this book in our local theatre and I must say I laughed until the tears were rolling down my cheeks. His book is filled with a lot of wisdom and truth mixed with our unique Irish humour which is the ability to laugh at ourselves. I'd definitely recommend reading this.