Mark Epstein, M.D., is a psychiatrist in private practice in New York City and the author of a number of books about the interface of Buddhism and psychotherapy, including The Trauma of Everyday Life, Thoughts without a Thinker and Going to Pieces without Falling Apart. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University.
“Most people will never find a great psychiatrist or a great
Buddhist teacher, but Mark Epstein is both, and the wisdom he
imparts in Advice Not Given is an act of generosity and compassion.
The book is a tonic for the ailments of our time.”—Ann Patchett,
New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth
“Mark Epstein’s Advice Not Given continues his important,
fascinating work in exceptionally lucid language. It also offers
its readers a collection of fables, vignettes, and personal
revelations with the true capacity to rearrange one’s perspective,
even change one’s life. I suspect many of these offerings will stay
with me for the long haul, for which I’m very grateful.”—Maggie
Nelson, New York Times bestselling author of The Argonauts
“Epstein’s book of practical suggestions will leave readers
educated, inspired, and equipped with new tools for psychological
health.” – Publisher’s Weekly, starred review
“Epstein writes with lightness and reverence. There’s a sense of
equanimity and deep trust in the experience of life that’s
palpable. If you’ve always wanted to develop a relationship with a
kind and reassuring psychiatrist, one who knows your every thought
and still accepts you, Advice Not Given will give you a taste of
that sort of relationship. You’ll feel a sense of ease and an
acceptance of yourself, and for what did and didn’t happen—and for
what was and wasn’t said.” – PsychologyToday.com, “The Clarity”
“In Advice Not Given Mark Epstein shares his remarkably practical
wisdom, borne of a brilliant interchange between the fundamentals
of Buddhism and the insights of psychotherapy. We all can benefit
from this advice, given here freely.”—Daniel Goleman, New York
Times bestselling author of Altered Traits and Emotional
Intelligence
“There are psychologists influenced by Buddhism and Buddhists
influenced by psychology, and then there is Mark Epstein, whose
deep and humane reflections on healing and self-understanding weave
these two great disciplines into a lovely and nuanced whole. As in
his other books, only this time more personally and more
passionately, Epstein in Advice Not Given offers the reader a rare
intelligence and honesty. A pleasure to read and contemplate!”
—Norman Fischer, poet, Zen priest, author of What is Zen? Plain
Talk for a Beginner's Mind
“An integrative pioneer who has done more than anyone to bridge
Buddhism with Western psychotherapy, Mark Epstein has now given us
a fine distillation of his work, exemplified by revealing
insights from his life and practice. Written in spare and elegant
prose, Advice Not Given urges us toward the discoveries and
unexpected sources of consolation that each tradition offers. A
memorable experience.” —George Makari, author of Soul Machine: The
Invention of the Modern Mind
“Advice Not Given is a beautiful reminder of what matters;
intimate, moving, insightful, tender and tough. It invites me to a
wiser mind and an open heart.” —Jack Kornfield, author of A Path
With Heart
“In times of strife, with a nation divided, and the dire
consequences of a warming world sweeping over our lives, Mark
Epstein is always there to provide us with a roadmap for a journey
of transformation, a pilgrim's path where the goal is not a place
but a state of mind, not a destination but an all embracing state
of peace, salvation and liberation. He is America's physician of
the psyche, healer of the mind, avatar of the heart.”—Wade Davis,
author of The Serpent and the Rainbow
“Mark Epstein's Advice Not Given is a truly wonderful book—it held
me in its intelligent, kind, and lucid grip all the way through,
and gave me back to the world at the end a refreshing bit more over
myself. I can see Buddha and Freud smiling to each other, pleased
about what a gracious insight their partnership in mentoring Dr.
Mark had enabled him to bring about and offer to us all in such a
work. I cannot recommend this work highly enough to anyone who
wants to take better notice of what makes human life so exquisitely
worthwhile. A true treasure of a guide to being real.”—Robert A. F.
Thurman, Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Buddhism at Columbia
University, and author of Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story
of the Dalai Lama of Tibet
“Extraordinary. Mark Epstein does a remarkable job in bringing
together the traditions of Buddhism and psychotherapy into an
immensely useful book for our time.”—Roshi Joan Halifax, Abbot of
Upaya Zen Center, and author of Being with Dying: Cultivating
Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death
“Mark Epstein interweaves psychotherapy and Buddhism in ways that
help readers further their own personal growth and practice. At
once down to earth, caring, suggestive, a sharing of years of work
in the front lines of his own person and helping others.”—Michael
Eigen, author of Feeling
Matters, Faith, and The Psychoanalytic Mystic
“For those looking to explore the idea of a Buddhist psychology in
greater depth, Epstein has been writing on the topic since his
first book was published in 1995. Advice Not Given is one of his
best to date and a perfect place to start.” — Psychologytoday.com
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