This is a book about friendship -- about the Buddhist ideals of spiritual friendship and the author's personal experience. Maitreyabhandhu's account, by turns moving, funny, and inspirational, is as compelling as a good novel. Woven into the tapestry of the many different aspects of friendship, such as openness, communication, fidelity, and altruism, is the colorful thread of Maitreyabandhu's own experiences -- from childhood through to his quest for life's meaning and wholehearted engagement with Buddhism. Writing with a refreshing candor, Maitreyabandhu does not shy away from those crucial and intimate issues that concern us all -- aloneness, sexuality, and falling in love.