Rikki West is a birdwatcher, book lover, and student of meditation who started training in Muay Thai at age sixty-two. She holds a bachelor’s in genetics from the University of Cal...view moreRikki West is a birdwatcher, book lover, and student of meditation who started training in Muay Thai at age sixty-two. She holds a bachelor’s in genetics from the University of California at Berkeley and a master’s in integrative humanities from San Francisco State University. Her greatest passion is ideas, and her greatest thrill is understanding a new subject, perspective, or person. Thai kickboxing and meditation support her aspiration to awaken as much as possible before her lights go out. Now retired from a thirty-five-year high-tech management career, she is the mother of Lauren Magnolia and godmother of Morgan Lisa, and she lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her spouse, Jill.view less