"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" was an influential book for me, profoundly so -- but I am not at all clear on what the term "Astray" means here. "Astray" from what? "Zen.." helped me through a difficult transition, when I was definitely "straying" from a previously fiercely held set of beliefs. (A lot of people might describe those previous beliefs as being pretty far "astray".) So did Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon", and (author's name escapes -- another bit of gray matter bites the dust)(but revives!) Eric Hoffer's "The True Believer."

Actually, so did Shirley MacLaine's series of autobiographical books about her various spiritual experiences. They weren't great literature but they helped me through a time when I was having to figure out how spiritual experiences can be understood and discussed in english, and among people with differing core beliefs.