Frederick Marx Bookstore
In a world awash with superficial spirituality, Frederick Marx is a rare breed: a modern-day barefoot Boddhisattva who embraces paradox, humor, and raw honesty as paths to wisdom. Marx joins a growing movement of contemporary spiritual iconoclasts—Buddhist rebels who challenge tradition to bring ancient wisdom into the messiness of modern life.
With a bold voice and raw insight, he adds to the lineage of spiritual truth-tellers offering wisdom without pretense—and with plenty of laughter. If you’re craving honesty over dogma, story over sermon, and meaning that lives in the messy middle of life, this book is for you—the rebels, the seekers, the ones who’d rather sit with truth than chase perfection.
Turds of Wisdom:
Irreverent Real-Life Stories from a Buddhist Rebel
“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” (Groucho Marx, no relation)
If you’ve long suspected that the sacred and the profane exist in close proximity, this book’s for you.
What if the trials and vicissitudes of daily life could become the ground even for awakening? Can everyday neuroses actually become fuel for enlightenment?
Here you will find stories of two kinds—episodes from Marx’s personal life and mini-essays on particular topics of interest. Some are Buddhist-themed; some have nothing to do with Buddhism. Nothing is meant to be sequential, either chronologically or thematically. For those things, we recommend a good book.
What if everything you’re reading right now is just BS? “Who are you going to believe? Me or your own eyes?” (Groucho Marx)
Rites to a Good Life
What if we could understand our lives in deeper ways, maximizing meaning and fulfillment even during times of crisis?
Every normal human lifespan contains passages that deserve attention, intention and ritual. This book shows us how we can do that with minimal disruption to our normal lives and without the need for teachers, ministers or gurus. This isn’t a religious book. All beliefs and non-beliefs are welcome.
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At Death Do Us Part
After your spouse dies, how do you go forward?
This beautifully-written memoir faces the realities of a loved one dying. Following a long fight with breast cancer, Tracy’s death ended their 13-year marriage. In the months after his loss, Frederick Marx wrote about their time together (falling in love, their shortcomings, her illness, and how they made each other better). Marx recounts his relationship with his partner–not as a saint, but as a person.