A Ronin's Tale: An Odyssey of Manhood

From a unique upbringing in a meditation commune in the Midwest to bouncing in a biker bar and serving in the military, Nick Osborne eventually found himself donning a suit and becoming a bored and lifeless company man. But in 2018, a week after his fortieth birthday, he unexpectedly lost his career, prompting him to sell all his possessions and ditch his cell phone. For nine months he wandered without an itinerary throughout Southeast Asia, testing himself in intensive martial art camps, trekking high into the Himalayas, and ultimately ending up on the riverbanks of the Ganges. A Ronin’s Tale delves into the mysterious complexities of manhood and the elusive pursuit to be courageous, particularly when immersed in adversity and self-doubt. Told with honesty, vulnerability, and humor, Nick weaves his wildly adventurous hero’s journey through the dense spiritual forests of masculinity, while divulging intimate details of his initiation toward inner peace and wholeness.   “I had an unusual upbringing in a transcendental meditation commune in the Midwest. My family uprooted from California in the mid-1980s to be part of a utopian vision that attracted spiritual seekers from around the world. This unique upbringing included attending the Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment, where we meditated daily and learned Vedic astrology, yoga, and sustainable living. From an early age, and throughout adolescence, I balanced two very distinctive worlds; one of a new age commune and the other, coming of age within a traditional Iowa farm town.   “As I grew older, I grappled with masculinity, and how it fit together with this softer, quieter, inner world. This search led me to the military, where I served as an intelligence officer, including a tour in the Middle East. For a time I worked in a Hells Angels biker bar as a bouncer. I also traveled alone through many developing countries, studying with shamans and other mystics. Eventually I earned a doctorate and began a rich profession of research, teaching, and even developing a course on the hero’s journey for student veterans. My work with veterans garnered national attention.   “A Ronin’s Tale is a spiritual and adventure memoir. It primarily captures my travels overseas in 2019, after abruptly losing my university career. It focuses on selling all of my belongings, ditching my cell phone, and embarking on a journey to live fully in the moment. The book spans my study of martial arts in Thailand and Vietnam, doing intensive soul work with psilocybin in Indonesia, and eventually trekking through the Himalayas in Nepal, and wandering in India. Aside from being a spiritual memoir, my story focuses on men’s issues and initiation—themes that span identity, the shame of losing a career, intimacy, seeking validation, and what it means to be ‘enough.’ I discuss the unique worlds of softer spirituality and fierce masculinity that I’ve juggled throughout my life. Finally, I share how I grappled with bouts of loneliness during my nine months abroad and my quest to find love in my early forties.” Read more