More about Time for Awakening

A remarkable shift alters the course of a midwestern mother’s life as she heeds an inner call through the wisdom of Buddhist meditation instructions. Woven intricately with insights cultivated during her recovery journey, this empowering and radically honest blend of memoir and guiding narrative charts her spiritual evolution into abiding awakening.

With faith and resilience, Constance learns to shape her own unique meditative expression, finding balance while navigating the complexities of parenting two teenage sons, the intricacies of close relationships, managing financial constraints, and building a home.

Whether cushion-bound or amidst daily chores, Constance’s exploration yields profound openings. Through vivid illustration, we are transported into the heart of her practice, feeling the rhythm of her thoughts, serenity of stillness, and revelations born in silence. Beyond a personal tale, it is a guiding light for those considering extended retreat practice.

Driven by a fire for deeper truths, Constance’s inner call transports her to a strict Southeast Asian monastery. Within the realm of devotion and tranquility, we are thrust into another world of heightened practice, crystallizing insights to carry back home.

Time for Awakening is a story that will inspire spiritual seekers and those simply curious about human meaning and connection, inviting all to embrace their unique path of awakening.

Praise for Time for Awakening

“Constance Casey is a genuine and accomplished spiritual adept who shows us what is possible in opening to freedom. Propelled by remarkable dedication and compelling honesty, this Midwest mother and carpenter takes us on a profound meditative journey into the depths of insight and awakening.”

—JACK KORNFIELD,
co-founding teacher, Spirit Rock Meditation Center and Insight Meditation Society;
author of A Path With Heart

“Part memoir, part guide to self-knowing, Time for Awakening is a spiritual coming-of-age story that serves to inspire and accompany those drawn to the path of liberation. Through curiosity and vulnerability, Constance shares her transformative experiences and embodied wisdom, inviting us into a deeper understanding of the human journey.”

—SHARON SALZBERG,
co-founding teacher, Insight Meditation Society;
author of Real Life and Real Happiness

“Time for Awakening by Constance Casey is a wonderfully clear account of her spiritual journey, one that will resonate with many who are walking the path to awakening. The illuminating interweaving of personal experience and the larger trajectory of the path of practice is an inspiring reminder that liberation is possible for us all.”

—JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN,
co-founding teacher, Insight Meditation Society;
author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening

“The title is both description and invitation as Casey’s welcoming debut blends memoir—exploring her own recovery, spiritual searching, and embrace of Buddhist precepts and mindfulness meditation—with guidance for seekers eager to discover all that such journeys entail… Casey writes with disarming frankness about relatable concerns in marriage and motherhood, budgets, and the dissatisfactions of modern life, especially the shift in thinking it takes to break from routine and expectation when first making the choice to look inward…

Casey offer[s]… vividly described lessons, insights, and revelations that demystify the process of meditation and spiritual searching while never diminishing the greater mysteries… an unusually grounded book of discovering truths, with an emphasis on the work that this demands, including setbacks and doubts, but also the real changes Casey experienced… Even if the book didn’t cover her eventual path as a mindfulness meditation teacher, readers would probably guess—page after page, with warmth and clarity, she teaches.”

—BookLife Reviews Editorial Pick

“Constance Casey offers readers a shimmering gift. This is not a memoir of a spontaneous and disembodied mystical awakening, but of knowledge of Stillness arrived at through an intense and extended quest. Her openness and detail in regard to the material and financial aspects of her homelife in conjunction with her life of meditation, learning, traveling, and healing are refreshing in a spiritual memoir. Ultimately the overall impression of the book is one of fullness, fullness of the vibration of life, and its infinite universality. This book reminds us, with kindness and camaraderie, to be humble and persistent as we seek skillfulness in our inner and outer pilgrimages to practice embodying the gifts of compassion, love, and peace.”

—SUN YUNG SHIN,
author of The Wet Hex and Where We Come From

“A captivating and intimate exploration of how authentic awakening unfolds…this book is chock full of spiritual wisdom.”

—TARA BRACH,
founding teacher, Insight Meditation Community of Washington;
author of Radical Acceptance and Trusting the Gold

“Constance Casey’s Time For Awakening is unlike any other memoir I’ve ever read! Steeped in 12-Step programs, Anne Wilson Schaef’s Living in Process, and decades of intensive Buddhist meditation practice, this courageous woman has forged a unique understanding of the strengths and limitations of each approach to spiritual growth. The unusual synthesis of these healing paths opens Casey to deep wisdom and high levels of consciousness. She remains grounded, however, in caring for her family, renovating their Minnesota house from basement to attic, running her tech business, and later serving as a hospital chaplain.

Anyone interested in meditation and how a young mother followed the big questions in life to move beyond thinking, beyond self, beyond suffering, and into enlightenment will love Constance Casey’s extraordinary odyssey.”

—NANCY MANAHAN,
co-author of Living Consciously, Dying Gracefully: A Journey with Cancer and Beyond

“Time for Awakening takes the reader on quite a spiritual journey from Midwest Al-Anon meetings to a strict Buddhist monastery in Malaysia and back home to Minnesota. Constance Casey, a Midwest mother of modest means, is willing to undergo extreme hardship and challenges in pursuit of deep spiritual awakening and, gratefully, finds what she is looking for. The Buddha exhorted his followers: ‘Ehipassiko, come and see for yourself.’ Constance Casey does just that. With sincerity and dedication to discovering liberation for herself, Constance Casey shows us that deep transformation is possible. We not only follow her process but are inspired to undergo our own journey of awakening.”

—JAMES BARAZ,
co-founding teacher, Spirit Rock Meditation Center;
co-author of Awakening Joy: 10 Steps to Happiness

“In Time for Awakening, the unique, distinct voice of one woman’s realization story weaves seamlessly with the unmistakable voice of Awakened Mind. In the words and between the words, through the story and through the silence under the telling, Constance Casey transmits a knowing that offers encouragement to the reader’s human experience and recognition for what’s always, already awake in us all. This book is a catalyst and companion for anyone on any stage of the awakening journey.”

—BROOKE TEISUI MCNAMARA,
Zen teacher at Dragon Lake Zen;
author of Bury the Seed and Feed Your Vow

“Time for Awakening is a classic story of struggle and transformation. Rooted in the Buddhist model of enlightenment with an underlying thread of 12 Step recovery, it tells a timeless tale with modern resonance.”

—KEVIN GRIFFIN,
author of One Breath at a Time and Living Kindness

“Constance Casey provides us with a remarkable spiritual travelog of her travels along the path to deeper and deeper understanding. Her dedication to moving towards awakening shines as an inspiration for all of us in her spiritual memoir.”

—LEIGH BRASINGTON,
author of Right Concentration and Dependent Origination & Emptiness

Extras from Time for Awakening

Your precious dollars are important to me. So, I’d like to share how I priced my work. I think we all need to reflect on the value we assign to writers’ work. I recently invested $50 in a one-year subscription to support another writer. There are many artists and writers who require support, including myself.

Given the profound insights and reflections housed within its 348 pages, which have been meticulously formatted—complete with diacritics, drawings, diagrams, pictures, and a glossary to help clarify any terms—the book’s value is well-justified.

The book is available for print-on-demand to save our earth’s resources, and Amazon can distribute my work worldwide. I also hope to have my book available on Lulu.com in the coming year. The cost of paper and distribution has surged, compelling most publishers to increase their prices. It’s not uncommon to see prices for books-in-print go up, a clear indicator of the reality of inflation.

As a low-income household, bringing this work forward was a huge challenge. I spent several years writing, editing, starving, and freezing with little to no income. I also scraped together every bit we could to pay for editing; ended up primarily with the volunteer support of my sons and a dear friend who were driven to serve the underlying intent of the project.

Your purchase contributes directly to our basic needs. I’d be enormously surprised if my expenses are ever recovered from creating this work. Contrast my situation with that of most authors with higher incomes who hire publicity agents—luxuries well beyond my reach. Every expense, including maintaining my website, stretches my capacities.

Ideally, the price would vary based on the buyer’s financial capacity. However, striving for a middle ground, I’ve set a price that feels fair while acknowledging our efforts and needs. As the book finds its way into the world, a secondhand market will emerge, offering more accessible options for readers.

I’m slowly venturing into the digital realm, which presents its own set of challenges. Hopefully, I’ll manage to learn these complexities and release an e-book version in 2025, which will be at a lower cost. As for an audio edition, the path to making that a reality adds another layer to my journey as an author.

My book is for sincere practitioners. If someone gets a glimpse of the golden transmission being presented, they will truly benefit and can use it to prepare for a retreat, returning to it for guidance. It’s more than just a story, it is a guide.

The price is a testament to the value of all who have contributed to its creation. Books are important to spend time with and digest. And, writers need to be valued for the tremendous amount of time and effort being put in.

May Time for Awakening: A Memoir make a difference in your life.

Thank you for your generosity.

With kindness,

Constance