In this entrancing memoir, timeless questions about music and life are explored by a master musician in his 88th year. The stern father who built an empire of words; the solipsistic uncle whose hypnotic voice calmed millions: these are just early glimpses of Mathieu's memory. Soon he is crimped into an overhead baggage rack in Stan Kenton's tour bus as scenes of scotch-soaked melancholy play out below; he is sharing late-night quarts of ice cream with Duke Ellington in his hotel room; he is co-inventing improvisational theater at Chicago's Second City with Alan Arkin and Mike Nichols; he is receiving the title of Sufi sheikh from an heir of Inayat Khan; and he is gleaning wisdom from a woman bundling firewood in Bali.

In prose at once wry and lyrical, Mathieu carries the reader through the adventures and misadventures of a scintillating and deeply examined life.

“Allaudin Mathieu reflects on his extraordinary life as a groundbreaking musician and writer. The Shrine Thief is a narrative of wisdom transmission for all readers, an illuminating, gripping, and inspiring memoir. Read it and your life will have new meaning.”

            Mitchell Thomashow, author, To Know the World: A New Vision of Environmental Learning

“In these pages, one of the best-loved and thoughtful musicians of our era recounts stories of family, friends, colleagues, lovers and mentors. From Stan Kenton to Pandit Pran Nath, the fast-paced stories keep coming. He shares what it feels like to pass forward his hard won discoveries made in part through the powerful geometries of music. Written in soul lifting prose The Shrine Thief is a thrilling memoir of a master musician’s adventures in music and life.”

            Terry Riley, composer

“Through The Shrine Thief, Allaudin Mathieu gives us a profound wisdom of a life well lived. For fifty years he has shared with us his mastery of music; now he brings that music into the written word for the ears of our Heart. Bravissimo!”

            Pir Shabda Kahn, Spiritual Lineage Holder of the Sufi Ruhaniat International, co-author of Physicians of the Heart.

“From master of music W. A. Mathieu comes a memoir written with verve and humor invigorated by thematic flourishes, unexpected crescendos, and moving moments of resolution. The Shrine Thief unfolds a pragmatic wisdom that can benefit anyone who aims to realize a harmonious life.”

            Neil Douglas-Klotz, author of The Sufi Book of Life and Revelations of the Aramaic Jesus

“A new book by William Allaudin Mathieu is always a cause for rejoicing.”

            Coleman Barks, poet, translator of The Soul of Rumi

“With extraordinary sensitivity and understanding, Mathieu transforms the intimate details of his richly lived and deeply felt life into compelling insights about how wisdom is recognized and passed on. This profound, illuminating and beautifully written book’s every page sings with warmth, humor and love.”

            Noam Lemish, Department of Music, York University

“W.A. Mathieu’s dynamic memoir is packed with an astonishing range of stories about his family, his years with music's stars, his decades with the Sufis, and—my favorite part—a romp or two with Coleman Barks among poetic roots and consequences! The Shrine Thief—with its stolen stone—offers a blessed terrain of “wonderstanding."

            Tamam Kahn, poet and author: Across the Difficult with Rabia of Basra and Others.

“W. A. Mathieu’s music and teachings have enriched countless musical lives, my own included. Now he has shared the story of the life that informs that music and those teachings. Wise, witty, provocative, and inspiring, The Shrine Thief will be treasured by anyone who aspires, like Allaudin, to bring their life into their music and their music into their life.”

            Larry Hamberlin, professor emeritus of music, Middlebury College

“Allaudin and I have entertained each other for many decades now as collaborators, friends, and companions on one path or another. We have said and done things that changed each other’s lives—often without even knowing it. I'm not a musician but this book taught me some about music; more than music, however, The Shrine Thief taught me some about Allaudin. He is both unique and universal — like all of us. Read this book! You will be entertained (the boy can write!) and it might possibly change your life — without even knowing it.”

           Alan Myerson. Director, Co-Founder, The Committee Theater