What does a Les Paul guitar have to do with the path to enlightenment?

One might say the stars and planets align the day Maggie takes Troy to her favorite second-hand shop to introduce him to Abe, the shop owner. Browsing through Abe's shop, Troy discovers a weathered and dusty guitar case and opens it to find a vintage Les Paul guitar. Troy is a college student and low on cash, so Abe gives him the opportunity to barter for the purchase.

How The Root of Kindness Works: The Virtue To Benefit Others, Janet Kathleen Ettele, Karuna Publications, Hardcover, 92 pages, $16.00

Janet Kathleen Ettele is a musician and author who draws from her background as a student of Buddhist dharma to bring its teachings into contemporary practice through her writing and her music. Two CDs, Piano Mandalas and Piano Mandalas -- Compassion, are collections of her meditatively improvised music. She graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston and worked in the entertainment industry until becoming a mother. She lives in Connecticut, where she has raised two sons. How the Root of Kindness Works, the second book in the How Life Works series, is her second writing of fiction.