Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Tra - Softcover

"Hell-Bent is witty and wise. If you don't practice yoga, read it anyway - you may learn something about the impulse for self-transcendence. And if you do practice yoga, you will laugh and cry with recognition." --Stefanie, Syman, New York Times Book Review

"In all honesty, Hell-Bent may be the best book I've read all year... Imagine if you can the lovechild of a sober Hunter S. Thompson and Elizabeth Gilbert and you'll get an idea of the prose." --Kayt Sukel, The Big Think

"An addictive read." --People Magazine (3.5 out of 4 stars)

"This extraordinarily thoughtful book stretches and reaches and bends in several seemingly impossible directions at the same time. It is at once a searching act of self-examination, a fascinating scientific investigation, a brave spiritual endeavor, and a fair minded look at one of yoga's most controversial icons. All in all, reading Hell-Bent makes for a wonderful, inspiring, maddening, complicated, edifying journey - and one that I was very happy to take." --Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love

"A fast paced narrative about how one struggling, overweight undisciplined New Yorker discovers a guru who takes him on an incredible journey of personal transformation... Lorr makes you grimace but also ponder the broader consequences of searching for self." --USA Today

"Meticulously researched, suspenseful and engrossing." --Kirkus Review (starred review)

"Lorr writes about his odyssey in vibrant, entertaining prose. Although he is obviously enamored by the discipline that has transformed his life, he retains a critical distance that allows him to present his larger-than-life guru in ruthless clarity." --Publishers Weekly

"Who knew self-purification could be suspenseful? This tale of an unlikely America yogi and this maniacal outlandish guru is more than memoir. It's a spiritual thriller." --Walter Kirn, New York Times Bestselling author of Up In the Air

"A vividly researched, beautifully written insider's account of the yoga world's most inscrutable, profitable, and misunderstood subculture." --Neal Pollack, bestselling author of Stretch

"One need not be familiar with the strange and fascinating world of hot yoga to fall head-over-heels for this book. Insightful, compassionate, and laugh-out-loud funny, Lorr delves deep into the for and motivations behind our human obsession with god-like perfection, introducing a cast of unforgettable characters and exposing a world of faith and devotion, pain and promises, myths and miracles. I could not put this book down." --Aryn Kyle, New York Times bestselling author of The God of Animals.

"A fascinating, riotous, and hilarious insight into the world of hardcore competitive postural yoga practice." --Mark Singleton, author of Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice

"Hell-Bent is a compassionate, insightful exploration of the emotional and intellectual tug-of-war many of us have experience in our yoga practice, revealing how we can fear and resent our most charismatic teachers - yet still be willing to follow them to the ends of the earth." --Suzanne Morrison, bestselling author of Yoga Bitch

"You'll be inspired to strip down to your intimates for hot yoga after devouring this read." --Marie Claire

"If, in addition to good health, yoga offers insight, then this might be the most thorough and honest book on the topic. Hell-Bent is a personal romp through a bizarre world, a clear-eyed exploration of the science of contorted bodies, and an unflinching expose of a guru that finally leaves you asking: How do you judge the salesman when the snakeoil might actually work?" --Stefan Fatsis, New York Times Bestselling author of Word Freak and A Few Seconds of Panic.