In Dharma Punx—A Memoir (Harper), Noah Levine begins his story as an adolescent punk in Santa Cruz, California, plunging in and out of mosh pits, acid trips, battles with bottles of Jack Daniels, small-time theft, post-“experimental” narcotics and juvie. His journey back into the light takes him to India and Thailand and back to North America, where he turns to teaching meditation and guiding young people who are lost, addicted and looking for a way out. This is a plainly written story, without pretension, and it succeeds admirably in doing what the author wants it to do: “take you on an intense journey from the streets to Juvenile Hall and from Juvenile Hall to the meditation hall.”