We always have a choice, Pema Chodron teaches: We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us and make us increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder. Here Pema provides the tools to deal with the problems and difficulties that life throws our way. This wisdom is always available to us, she teaches, but we usually block it with habitual patterns rooted in fear. Beyond that fear lies a state of openheartedness and tenderness. This book teaches us how to awaken our basic goodness and connect with others, to accept ourselves and others complete with faults and imperfections, and to stay in the present moment by seeing through the strategies of ego that cause us to resist life as it is.

Reviews

The Places That Scare You by Pema Chodron. Chodron, a Buddhist nun, offers plans of action for coping with anxiety, fear and uncertainty. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

"Chodron has once again proven herself to be one of the very best working in this field."-- "Library Journal "



"Chodron demonstrates how effective the Buddhist point of view can be in bringing order into disordered lives."-- "Publishers Weekly "



"A lively and accessible take on ancient techniques for transforming terror and pain into joy and compassion."-- "O: The Oprah Magazine "