Half raucous adventure and half inspirational memoir, "Rude Awakenings" documents an unusual pilgrimage. Two very different men--life-loving naturalist Nick Scott and austere Buddhist monk Ajahn Sucitto--together spend six months retracing the Buddha's footsteps through India. Told alternately by Sucitto and Scott in their distinctive voices, this story blends self-effacing humor, philosophical explorations, drama, travel observations, and the occasional giant fruit bat. "Rude Awakenings" is a heady record of survival and spirituality set against the dramatic backdrop of one of India's most lawless regions.