Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India by William Dalrymple

Nine Lives by William Dalrymple explores religious devotion in contemporary India through portraits of nine people. Their stories reveal how inherited spiritual practices coexist, and sometimes conflict, with the pressures of modern life.

Published by Vintage, this work of travel writing and religious reportage includes experiences such as Jain renunciation and sacred performance. It approaches faith through individual lives rather than offering a guide to one religion or a set of spiritual instructions.