William Yenner was first introduced to meditation in Rishikesh, India in the 1970s and was later a committed practitioner of Buddhist Vipassana meditation. His involvement with Andrew Cohen and Cohen’s EnlightenNext community spanned 13 years. His story is typical of that of many longtime students of Cohen’s. At the outset, it was characterized by idealism and inspiration. In the middle, devotion and hard work prevailed as he helped build the organization. And in the end, he was left disillusioned and disappointed after a series of debilitating, abusive experiences. Following his departure, and in order to secure the return of a large monetary donation that he had been pressured to give to Cohen, a gag order prevented his writing or speaking publicly about his experiences in Cohen’s community. That gag order expired in the summer of 2008; following that, he began the work of writing and editing American Guru (2009). This paper is based on that volume. Yenner retired and sold his property management business in 2021, and divides his time between his home in Florida and cottage in Nova Scotia. He still loves traveling.