Sally Hovey Wriggins:
Asia on My Mind:
From Ceylon to the Silk Road
1955-2005
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In this memoir, ASIA ON MY MIND, independent scholar and author Sally Hovey Wriggins, born in Seattle in 1922, follows her own fascination with the continent crossed by the Silk Road. In the course of describing her own curiosity about the historical development of Buddhism, the opening up of China and the identity politics of South Asia, she touches on the influences that have engaged millions of Americans with Asia.
Wriggins’ story is of special interest to women and writers, since she was 74 when her book XUANZANG: A Buddhist Pilgrim on the Silk Road was published. Its phenomenal success, published in five languages and released in three American editions, established her as a pioneering scholar. With this biography of a medieval Buddhist pilgrim, she introduced the rich heritage of Chinese and Indian Buddhism to Western readers.
Wriggins spent twenty-five years researching her subject: she traveled throughout Asia, trekking across the deserts and climbing up to mountains caves. In preparing her books about Xuanzang, she collected not only texts but artifacts so that her books are beautifully illustrated with photographs of works of art and stunning geography as well as comprehensive maps. She showed that she could make her way through medieval Chinese texts and the inscrutable Yogachara Buddhism with the same determination that she utilized in raising three children, serving as an ambassador’s wife and organizing the Asian-American Forum—a group dedicated to bridging the cultures of East and West.
Asia on My Mind features the many people who led Sally Hovey Wriggins to a deep understanding of Asia. A Princeton professor, A Tamil matron, an eccentric travel writer and an adventuresome artist are just a few of the colorful characters who populate this lively memoir. Spanning a continent and spanning a century, this autobiographical excursion shows the fascinating process of creativity in a life well-lived.
Outskirts Press, 2008
256 pages
Trade Paperback
Price $19.95
Sally Wriggins's life and career reflect the globalization of the twentieth century. Her early years in the Pacific Northwest to her home in the Ambassadorial residence in Sri Lanka to her travels throughout Asia offered exposure to different cultures, which she studied and embraced. She used these insights to write what has become the standard biography of Xuanzang, the renowned Chinese Buddhist pilgrim to India. Readers will be enchanted and moved by the autobiographical journeys of this sensitive and knowledgeable woman.
Sally Hovey Wriggins has been a one-woman bridge between America and Asia, with her biography of Xuanzang becoming a classic. Her memoir captures her adventures with Quakerly goodwill heard on every page.