Featured Interview With Priya Hutner
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am a non-fiction writer, author, and private chef. Passionate about literary arts and music, I cofounded the Tahoe Literary Festival, which celebrates the literary arts. The Seasoned Sage, a catering company, I own, supports my creative life. I live in a small mountain town near Lake Tahoe.
From the suburbs of Philadelphia to the streets of New York, I was exposed to spirituality at a very young age. I started meditating and became a vegetarian when I was twelve. My parents moved our family into the communal houses of their spiritual teacher. The guru, a charismatic Brooklyn housewife turned spiritual teacher, were parents’ beacon of light. For me, barely a teenager, New York offered me freedom from the mundane world of suburbia. Here, I roamed the streets, drank in the chaos of the city, and partied. I lived with one foot in the spiritual world and one foot in the worldly world. Eventually, I moved to the guru’s ashram in Florida.
I’ve met hundreds of spiritual teachers, meditated over 10,000 hours, participated in some bizarre spiritual rituals to attain enlightenment and became an integral part of managing the ashram.
After leaving the ashram I moved to Truckee. When I am not writing, cooking or teaching you can find me outdoors biking, hiking, or skiing. I currently have no pets, although the occasional bear does drops by. I am definitely a dog person.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
Books were my world from the time I could read and I was a voracious reader. From Dr. Suess to Anne of Green Gables, Watership Down, A Wrinkle in Time, Little Women, and The Hobbit, I spent a lot of time reading. Even in elementary school, I’d sneak into my father’s room and raid his bookshelf. I was dropped into the worlds of Ian Fleming’s Goldfinger, Truman Compote’s In Cold Blood, HG Wells’s War of the Worlds, Orwell’s Animal Farm, 1984, and Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, which left an indelible mark on me. I guess I was a book nerd and didn’t even realize it until this moment. I loved required reading in school, The Good Earth, Lord of the Flies, and Jane Austen. I devoured almost all of Stephen King’s books.
I feel like I’ve been writing my whole life. Growing up, I had a diary, then a journal, and later I wrote copy and content for work. I started writing my first book after my traumatic exit from the spiritual community I’d devoted my life to. I’ve been writing professionally for the last 11 years. I write feature stories focused on arts, entertainment, food, and culinary trends, book reviews, and interviews with authors, songwriters, and interesting people doing extraordinary things.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I feel like I’ve been writing my whole life. Growing up, I had a diary, then a journal, and later I wrote copy and content for work. I started writing my first book after my traumatic exit from the spiritual community I’d devoted my life to. I’ve been writing professionally for the last 11 years. I write feature stories focused on arts, entertainment, food, and culinary trends, book reviews, and interviews with authors, songwriters, and interesting people doing extraordinary things.
My love of reading is eclectic. I’m definitely a mood reader. There is a time and place for what I pick up to read. My book queue is ridiculously large at the moment. I am currently reviewing memoirs and non-fiction books about cults. Some are journalistic, speaking to the topic, while others are close encounters of the first kind. Stories from people who have experienced life in highly controlled groups fascinate me. These memoirs resonate having been there myself.
I read a lot of memoirs and non-fiction as it is the genre, I write in. Non-fiction books about music, pop culture, and the culinary arts are always on my list to read. Being dropped into a good fiction story, delivering me to other worlds, times, places is magical. At night, I enjoy curling up with a book that I can wind down with and escape into. A good historical romance novel that takes me back to pre-18th-century Scotland is my kryptonite. Must be some of my Scottish roots.
Inspiration is everywhere- it may be cliché, but it’s the truth. Tahoe is one of the most inspirational places, being outdoors fosters my creativity. Hiking, biking, skiing or gazing upon the lake stirs the imagination. Reading books about the outdoors and nature inspires me. Eve Quesnel’s Snow Fleas and Chickadees, or Tim Hauserman’s book on solo hiking are thought provoking. I draw inspiration from Patti Smith’s depth, Michael Branch’s humor, Carl Hiaasen’s satire, and any author who bares their soul, reveals their vulnerability and bleeds on the page is inspirational. Books by debut authors and colleagues inspire me. Creativity and storytelling inspire me. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Tara Westover, Elizabeth Gilbert, Cheryl Strayed and Jeanette Walls-all of these authors books spoke to me and encouraged me to write my story.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Chasing Nirvana: A Seeker’s Story of Love, Loss, and Liberation chronicles my epic quest for liberation, my devotion to a charismatic female guru, and my journey to break free from the cult-like spiritual ashram I dedicated my life to.
Growing up under the sway of a Brooklyn housewife turned guru, I was drawn into a world shaped by bizarre rituals, I drank Manischewitz wine from a human skull cup and ate the ashes of the dead. There were the spiritual promises -If I served the guru, held onto her feet, meditated, and served humanity, I would attain nirvana. And the oppressive beliefs, there were many like I’d attain enlightenment (whatever that means) if I was celibate. I indeed lived a spiritual adventure. My life was unique, I felt special, and my world was filled with meaning and purpose. I’ve travelled the world, became an unwilling swami, had an affair with an American Sikh from another ashram, until I eventually woke up to the realization it was time to leave. My exit was traumatic and terrifying.
A spiritual adventure story and a cautionary tale, Chasing Nirvana is a story of love, heartbreak, and redemption that offers a powerful reflection on the perils of blind faith and devotion.
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