A Lotus On Fire:
How a Buddhist Monk Ignited My Heart
Synopsis
Sparked by a soul-searching glance by Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, this spiritual memoir illuminates the mystical path of awakening to the Love beyond the boundaries of body and mind, race and religion. In this collection of personal letters written to a beloved teacher, Vickie reveals the vulnerability of a grieving heart touched alive by this timeless glimpse of Love that ignites her soul. Ultimately, she learns that the true teacher is simply a mirror reflecting our own pure essence, and that the love she saw in Thay's eyes is what she wants to reflect back to the world.
Combining the calmness of the Zen Buddhist mind with the fiery passion of the Christian mystic's heart,
A Lotus on Fire
invites the reader into that intimate space of communion with the wisdom and knowing at the heart of all great spiritual traditions
"In A Lotus on Fire, Vickie reveals the tender and devotional love that was ignited in one moment of awakening with Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, and how that love slowly expands to embrace the whole world."
-Deva Premal and Miten, Grammy-nominated mantra singers and devotional musicians
About the Author
Vickie is a writer, spiritual director, yoga & meditation teacher, passionate about integrating embodied awareness, breath, and spirituality into everyday life.
Vickie's teaching and writing is a unique blend of body-based awareness, breath, and spirituality, offering healing and wholeness to individuals and groups. With an inter-spiritual heart that embraces the oneness of all spiritual traditions, Vickie offers workshops and retreats to build bridges, and create new kinds of spiritual communities, beyond the walls of traditional religion.
Vickie is the author of A Lotus on Fire: How a Buddhist Monk Ignited my Heart, a spiritual memoir that traces her transformative journey with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, and his Buddhist community.
She has also been published in several anthologies and journals:
- Her short story "Thay in Disguise" was published in Tears Become Rain: Stories of Transformation and Healing Inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh
(Parallax Press, 2023)
- Her prose story "Listen Like a Lotus Growing Out of the Mud" was published in Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction and Companionship (December, 2024)
- Her poem "The Good News" was recently published in "The Spiritual Life Writing Workbook (Creative Connex 2025)
As a progressive Canadian writer, Vickie gives a face and voice to the “ordinary” seeker who is seeking depth and meaning beyond the walls of convention and traditional religion, whether in yoga studios, sanghas, chanting circles, or outside in Gaia’s natural cathedral.
Ultimately, Vickie invites her students and readers to “slow down and listen deeply” to ourselves, to each other, to our planet, and to the Great Loving Mystery that holds us all.
In the Media
Other Writing and Collaborations
Vickie writes in the growing genre of Spiritual Life Writing, imbuing the everyday ordinary stories of life with the sacred and mystical, helping us find meaning and healing amidst the rawness of life.
"Vickie's writing reflects keen attention to embodied practices. Her prose reflects the natural rhythms of life, like breathing and walking, and is lyrical in style. Her poetry invites the reader to pause, contemplate, and reflect amid picture-perfect imagery. Vickie infuses her work with equal measures of sensuality and spirituality to nourish both body and soul."
- Lana Cullis, Co-Author of The Spiritual Life Writing Workbook
Tears Become Rain: Stories of Transformation and Healing Inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh (Parallax Press, 2023)
Edited by Jeanine Cogan and Mary Hillebrand
Vickie feels honored to join with over 30 other international authors to share their transformative and healing stories of mindfulness, inspired by the teachings and practices of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Vickie's short story "Thay in Disguise" shares her journey of looking for the teacher outside of herself, and finally finding the true teacher within.
Podcasts
Vickie interviewed on A Buddhist Life Podcast
Listen to this uplifting conversation between Vickie and Roland Ikuta from the Buddhist Temple of Southern Alberta, about yoga and meditation, inter spirituality, Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village, and Vickie's memoir "A Lotus On Fire".
