After the Absolute, by David Gold:

This poignant biography of an unassuming West Virginia philosopher and spiritual teacher, always referred to as "Mr. Rose," much like another astute teacher addressed in similar manner as "Mr. Gurdjieff," comes to us by way of a formerly unassuming attorney by the name of David Gold, who experienced everyday life to the deepest level with this man who lived to tell about his Death Experience in the Absolute. His story is divinely entertaining, yet earthy in its portrayal of the relationship between "student and Zen master" as Rose was referred to, because of his no nonsense approach to enlightenment.

Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of The Crack in the Cosmic Egg, is quoted as saying "After the Absolute is one of the most gripping, intensely dramatic, heroic-mythic yet poignantly human accounts I have ever read. Gold's account is not just a superb narrative but THE universal drama."

Chapter Four (French Translation) [PDF 100kb]