When Things Fall Apart

When Things Fall Apart

Heart Advice for Difficult Times

About the Book

Pema Chödrön's perennially best-selling classic on overcoming life's difficulties cuts to the heart of spirituality and personal growth--now in a newly designed 20th-anniversary edition with a new afterword by Pema--makes for a perfect gift and addition to one's spiritual library.

How can we live our lives when everything seems to fall apart—when we are continually overcome by fear, anxiety, and pain? The answer, Pema Chödrön suggests, might be just the opposite of what you expect. Here, in her most beloved and acclaimed work, Pema shows that moving toward painful situations and becoming intimate with them can open up our hearts in ways we never before imagined. Drawing from traditional Buddhist wisdom, she offers life-changing tools for transforming suffering and negative patterns into habitual ease and boundless joy.
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Praise for When Things Fall Apart

“Perhaps what makes Pema’s message resonate so strongly with people, no matter what their religion or spiritual path, is its universality. Each of us has experienced heartache; how we interact with that feeling, Pema says, can create the possibility of a more joyful life.”—O, The Oprah Magazine

“If you’re facing a challenging time in life, this is the book you want. It shows how to develop loving-kindness toward yourself and then cultivate a fearlessly compassionate attitude toward your own pain and that of others.”—Lion’s Roar

“Pema Chodron is one of those spiritual teachers who brings ancient wisdom to bear upon our daily triumphs and tragedies. . . . Incredibly wise and poignantly practical.”—Spirituality & Health

“Chödrön's book is filled with useful advice about how Buddhism helps readers to cope with the grim realities of modern life, including fear, despair, rage and the feeling that we are not in control of our lives . . . Chödrön demonstrates how effective the Buddhist point of view can be in bringing order into disordered lives.”—Publishers Weekly

“This is a book that could serve you for a lifetime.”—Natural Health
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Shambhala Classics Series

The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Narrow Road to the Interior
The Art of Worldly Wisdom
The Book of Five Rings
When Things Fall Apart
Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior
The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin
Bodhisattva of Compassion
For the Benefit of All Beings
Vitality, Energy, Spirit
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About the Author

Pema Chodron
Pema Chödrön is an American Buddhist nun and one of the foremost students of Chögyam Trungpa, the renowned meditation master. She is the author of The Wisdom of No Escape, Start Where You Are, and The Places That Scare You, and she is resident teacher at Gampo Abbey, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the first Tibetan monastery in North America established for Westerners. More by Pema Chodron
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