Author Guide · Non-Duality
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Joan Tollifson was born with one hand. Her first book, Bare-Bones Meditation (1996), tells how she grew up feeling different, became a disability rights activist, struggled with drugs and alcohol, found Zen Buddhism and then left formal structures behind. Her main teacher was Toni Packer. She has an affinity with both Buddhism and Advaita but belongs to no tradition, and her later books, two of them first published by Non-Duality Press, keep pointing to what is here now. This guide covers her 5 key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 5 key books · 1996–2019 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Joan Tollifson has published five key books: Bare-Bones Meditation (1996), Awake in the Heartland (2003), Painting the Sidewalk with Water (2010), Nothing to Grasp (2012) and Death: The End of Self-Improvement (2019). Start with Death, her most recent book, which mixes personal stories with reflections on aging, dying and waking up to the present.
Where to Start with Joan Tollifson
If you want her most recent book
→ Death (2019) — aging, dying and the present moment.
If you want her life story
→ Bare-Bones Meditation (1996) — a memoir of disability, addiction and Zen.
If you want talks and dialogues on nonduality
→ Painting the Sidewalk with Water (2010).
If you want her short book on nonduality
→ Nothing to Grasp (2012).
5 Joan Tollifson Books, in Order
Bare-Bones Meditation
Her first book, published by Bell Tower in 1996 (260 pages). It follows her life from being born with one hand and growing up feeling different, through finding an identity as a bisexual lesbian and disability rights activist, addiction to drugs and alcohol, and Zen Buddhism, to a spirituality with no set structure. Larry Rosenberg called it a rare record of the teaching of her teacher, Toni Packer.
Awake in the Heartland
Her second book, first published in 2003. It was reissued by Non-Duality Press in 2006 and again by New Sarum Press in 2022, keeping the subtitle The Ecstasy of What Is.
Painting the Sidewalk with Water
Published by Non-Duality Press in 2010 and reissued by New Sarum Press in 2023. As the subtitle says, it collects talks and dialogues about nonduality, the form closest to her meetings with people.
Nothing to Grasp
Published by Non-Duality Press in 2012; her 2011 profile on Buddha at the Gas Pump said two more books were slated for early 2012. New Sarum Press brought out a new edition in 2025.
Death
Published by New Sarum Press in 2019. Through personal stories and reflections, she writes about her mother’s final years, being with friends and teachers at the end of their lives, her own aging and anal cancer, and being alive amid possible societal collapse and climate threats. Its publisher calls it a celebration of “the great stripping process of aging, dying and spiritual awakening” and a “pathless path” that treats all of life as sacred.
In What Order to Read Joan Tollifson
Her books fall into two kinds. Bare-Bones Meditation and Death: The End of Self-Improvement are built around her own life: disability, addiction and Zen in the first, aging, illness and the deaths of others in the last. Painting the Sidewalk with Water is made of talks and dialogues.
Reading in publication order shows the move from Zen practice and Toni Packer’s retreats to a nonduality without a tradition. Readers who want the message first can start with the most recent book and go back to the memoir afterwards.
A reading path
1. Death: The End of Self-Improvement (2019)
2. Bare-Bones Meditation (1996)
3. Painting the Sidewalk with Water (2010)
4. Nothing to Grasp (2012)
The years · 1996–2025
Quick facts about Joan Tollifson
- Known for
- Joan Tollifson is known for plain, personal writing about nonduality and being present, drawn from her life with disability, addiction, Zen practice and aging.
- 2010
- Talks published by Non-Duality Press
- 2012
- Nothing to Grasp
- 2019
- Death
- 2025
- New edition of Nothing to Grasp
- Main teacher
- Toni Packer
- Traditions
- Affinity with Buddhism and Advaita; belongs to no formal tradition
- First book
- Bare-Bones Meditation, Bell Tower, 1996
- Has lived in
- Northern California, rural New York, Chicago and Southern Oregon
- Publishers
- Bell Tower; Non-Duality Press; New Sarum Press
- Writes
- Substack newsletter at joantollifson.substack.com
The red mark is 2019: Death: The End of Self-Improvement, her most recent book and the one to start with.
How Joan Tollifson Writes: Life Story and the Present Moment
Tollifson writes from her own life. Bare-Bones Meditation is a memoir of being born with one hand, of activism, addiction and Zen, and Death: The End of Self-Improvement returns to the personal: her mother’s last years, the deaths of friends and teachers, her own cancer. Descriptions of her work call it simple, honest and down to earth.
Her link to non-duality is direct but unaffiliated. She has an affinity with both Buddhism and Advaita, belongs to no formal tradition, and her main teacher was Toni Packer. Two of her books were first published by Non-Duality Press, and one is subtitled Talks and Dialogs about Nonduality.
Her approach, in her publisher’s words, points “beyond concepts and beliefs to the immediacy of direct knowing and being”. Death argues against stories of inadequacy and endless self-improvement, and for waking up to ordinary life as it is. Readers of this cluster may also look at Rupert Spira and Byron Katie.
Watch
Joan Tollifson on Buddha at the Gas Pump
Joan Tollifson talks with Rick Archer on the Buddha at the Gas Pump podcast in 2011 about non-duality, awakening, the sense of a separate self and the illusion of choice. From the official Buddha at the Gas Pump® channel.
Frequently asked questions about Joan Tollifson’s books
How many books has Joan Tollifson written?
Five key books are listed here, from Bare-Bones Meditation (1996) to Death: The End of Self-Improvement (2019). Several have since been reissued by New Sarum Press.
What are Joan Tollifson’s books in order?
Bare-Bones Meditation (1996), Awake in the Heartland (2003), Painting the Sidewalk with Water (2010), Nothing to Grasp (2012) and Death: The End of Self-Improvement (2019).
Where should I start with Joan Tollifson?
With Death: The End of Self-Improvement (2019), her most recent book, which combines personal stories with reflections on aging, dying and the present moment. For her life story, read Bare-Bones Meditation.
What is Joan Tollifson’s most famous book?
Her first, Bare-Bones Meditation: Waking Up from the Story of My Life (1996), came from a major publisher and has appeared in paperback, ebook and audio. Among her later books, Death: The End of Self-Improvement (2019) is the most recent.
Who was Joan Tollifson’s teacher?
Her main teacher was Toni Packer, though she spent time with many other teachers. Larry Rosenberg wrote that Bare-Bones Meditation is a rare record of Packer’s teaching.
Is Joan Tollifson a Buddhist or an Advaita teacher?
Neither formally. She has an affinity with both Buddhism and Advaita but belongs to no formal tradition. Her first book describes moving from Zen Buddhism to a spirituality with no set structure.
What is Bare-Bones Meditation about?
It is a memoir. It covers being born with one hand, growing up feeling different, her identity as a bisexual lesbian and disability rights activist, drug addiction and alcoholism, and her turn to Zen and then to a spirituality without structure.
What is Death: The End of Self-Improvement about?
Her mother’s final years, being with friends and teachers as they died, her own aging and anal cancer, and the threat of societal and climate collapse. It argues for waking up to the present rather than chasing self-improvement.
Where can I hear Joan Tollifson speak?
She was interviewed in episode 86 of Buddha at the Gas Pump, recorded in September 2011, which is embedded on this page. She also writes a Substack newsletter.
Footnotes
- Joan Tollifson — Hachette UK
- Bare-Bones Meditation — Penguin Random House
- Death: The End of Self-Improvement — Stillness Speaks
- Joan Tollifson — Buddha at the Gas Pump, episode 86
- Books by Joan Tollifson — BookScouter
- Death quotes — Goodreads
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
“Liberation has nothing to do with belief, but is rather the freedom from belief.”
— Joan Tollifson, The Simplicity of What Is
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