Karen Maezen Miiller 
Hand Wash Cold 
Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life

It’s easy to think that meaning, fulfillment, and bliss are “out there, ” somewhere outside of our daily routine. But in this playful yet profound reflection on awareness, the compelling voice of a contemporary woman reveals the happiness at the bottom of the laundry basket, the love in the kitchen sink, and the peace possible in one’s own backyard. Follow Karen Maezen Miller through youthful ambition and self-absorption, beyond a broken marriage, and into the steady calm of a so-called ordinary life. In her hands, household chores and caregiving tasks become opportunities for self-examination, lessons in relationship, and liberating moments of selflessness. With attention, it’s the little things — even the unexpected, unpleasant, and unwanted things — that count.

About the author

Karen Maezen Miller is an errant wife, delinquent mother, reluctant dog walker, and expert laundress, as well as a Zen Buddhist priest and meditation teacher at the Hazy Moon Zen Center in Los Angeles. She is the author of Momma Zen: Walking the Crooked Path of Motherhood, and her writing is also included in the anthologies The Best Buddhist Writing 2007 and The Maternal Is Political. She offers retreats and workshops around the country. You can catch up with her writing and events at www.karenmaezenmiller.com.