Between Two Worlds: My Fifty Years in the Gurdjieff Work James Opie | Foreword by Jeff Zaleski
Published by Monkfish in 2026

James Opie is a well-known figure in Portland, having been a successful rug dealer here for several decades, before retiring to upstate New York in 2021.
He is also an accomplished author, having written well-regarded books on tribal rugs from Afghanistan, Iran, and surrounding regions. He has now written a memoir, Between Two Worlds: My Fifty Years in the Gurdjieff Work. It is an engaging and candid account of a full and interesting life.

The book effortlessly combines bildungsroman, travelogue, and personal accounts of the trials of building a successful business, and of spiritual search. It starts with several chapters on Opie’s early life, including his involvement with the counterculture in California, and the threat of conscription for the Vietnam War. Well-chosen stories provide intimations of future developments that seemed unlikely at the time.

As the title indicates, the central theme of the book is the author’s long engagement with the teaching of the Greek-Armenian spiritual master G.I. Gurdjieff, commonly referred to as ‘the Work’. Opie writes of the challenges faced by any spiritually centered community, alongside the opportunities for self-knowledge that an intentional community can provide. One highlight of the book describes how the business and spiritual worlds came together in Afghanistan, through an unlikely chain of events.

An online review observes: "In the end, this memoir-with-Gurdjieff reveals how inner efforts and fortuitous help incrementally make a man more mature and serious, though still remaining a beginner."

“A worthy memoir steeped in an underdiscussed philosophical and spiritual tradition.”-- Kirkus Reviews