The “down-to-earth, unsentimental, [and] high-humored” Pema Chödrön classic on learning to face our lives just as they are (Los Angeles Times)
It's true, as they say, that we can only love others when we first love ourselves—and we can only experience real joy when we stop running from pain. The key to understanding these truisms is simple but not easy: we must learn to open ourselves up to life in all its manifestations. Here, spiritual teacher and When Things Fall Apart author Pema Chödrön presents a uniquely practical approach to doing just that, showing us the true value in having “no escape” from the ups and downs of life.
Drawing from her own experiences with marriage, divorce, motherhood, and more, Pema reveals that when we embrace the happiness and heartache, the inspiration and confusion—all the twists and turns that are part of natural life—we can begin to discover a true wellspring of courageous love that’s been within our hearts all along. As she writes in chapter four: “Our neurosis and our wisdom are made out of the same material. If you throw out your neurosis, you also throw out your wisdom.”
"Whatever your folly—anger or fear or jealousy or melancholy—Chödrön teaches that freedom from it lies in ‘getting to know it completely, with some kind of softness, and learning how, once you’ve experienced it fully, to let go.'" —Brain Pickings
"This deceptively straightforward book is an excellent introduction to the thinking of a major Western Buddhist leader who gracefully bridges contemporary life with traditional practices."—Publishers Weekly
Pema Chödrön is an American Buddhist nun in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa. She is resident teacher at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia, the first Tibetan monastery in North America established for Westerners. She is the author of many books and audiobooks, including the best-selling When Things Fall Apart and Don't Bite the Hook.
The “down-to-earth, unsentimental, [and] high-humored” Pema Chödrön classic on learning to face our lives just as they are (Los Angeles Times)
It's true, as they say, that we can only love others when we first love ourselves—and we can only experience real joy when we stop running from pain. The key to understanding these truisms is simple but not easy: we must learn to open ourselves up to life in all its manifestations. Here, spiritual teacher and When Things Fall Apart author Pema Chödrön presents a uniquely practical approach to doing just that, showing us the true value in having “no escape” from the ups and downs of life.
Drawing from her own experiences with marriage, divorce, motherhood, and more, Pema reveals that when we embrace the happiness and heartache, the inspiration and confusion—all the twists and turns that are part of natural life—we can begin to discover a true wellspring of courageous love that’s been within our hearts all along. As she writes in chapter four: “Our neurosis and our wisdom are made out of the same material. If you throw out your neurosis, you also throw out your wisdom.”
Reviews
"Whatever your folly—anger or fear or jealousy or melancholy—Chödrön teaches that freedom from it lies in ‘getting to know it completely, with some kind of softness, and learning how, once you’ve experienced it fully, to let go.'" —Brain Pickings
"This deceptively straightforward book is an excellent introduction to the thinking of a major Western Buddhist leader who gracefully bridges contemporary life with traditional practices."—Publishers Weekly
Author
Pema Chödrön is an American Buddhist nun in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa. She is resident teacher at Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia, the first Tibetan monastery in North America established for Westerners. She is the author of many books and audiobooks, including the best-selling When Things Fall Apart and Don't Bite the Hook.
