Reviews

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön

bhavik's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

miss_twiddle's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

yikesbmg's review

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4.0

I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to, and learned a lot from it that I hope to keep with me for a long time. A mentor recommended I read it about a year and a half ago, when I was dealing with a lot of anxiety from unexamined/unhealed trauma. I finally bought it a month or two ago, and read it all this month. After reading this book, I think I have a better understanding of and see the value in mindfulness. I have been moving at a mile a minute for a few weeks now and finishing this book has made me commit to slowing down and taking stock of where I’m at. This might be one book I return back to to read again in the future.

I’d recommend this book to people who fear or are generally put off by change or the future, who like to keep themselves busy and moving 24/7, and who are interested in some gentle/light self reflection. If you’re feeling a little lost in your 20s, I’d recommend it too.

lsparrow's review

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4.0

a great way to start the year.

marloureads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

3.25

libbygamberg's review

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hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

amlibera's review against another edition

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5.0

There is a lot here. A lot to digest. To keep thinking about. Glad I read it and I am certain I will read it again.

beillumined's review against another edition

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5.0

It took me four years to finish reading this book, because I kept picking it up and putting it back down. But I read it whenever I needed it and it was always there for me. It is sticky noted and annotated and marked, and now I plan to go back and read it all again, and maybe it will take me 4 years, or 4 days, but there are always difficult times, and this book is medicine.

vthompson1's review

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4.0

For my 200-yoga teacher training, we were all required to pick a book from a list, read it, and write about it. Being the book lover that I am, I was ready to dive on into all the resources. I decided to calm down and read one every season instead, so I could keep my knowledge for the yoga practice and my spiritual ‘self’ prolonged for a while longer. I chose this book out of the list because it stood out first. I had just recently gotten out of a dark place where I felt as if nothing was going well for me. This insert is straight forward when discussing deep spiritual ways of why one is feeling such suffering and actions to get out of these difficult times. I was so taken back on how much this book can help. It makes me wish I was introduced to it two years ago. Pema Chödrön insists on aspects you would not except. This divine intervention is a way of transforming negative thoughts and undesirable habits to infinite pleasure and positive actions. Go and read now.

serru's review

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3.0

Buddhist concepts presented in a way that I'm not actually sure if this book was written for the average person or not. It doesn't get very technical about Buddhist ideas but it also doesn't really take the time to explain them clearly first. For example, there was a chapter in the middle about the concept of "maras" but completely fails to define what the word means. In addition, while there are attempts to apply the Buddhist teachings to our real lives, a lot of it is written very vaguely. I was actually kind of lost in the middle chapters of the book.

That said, I really really liked the last 5-6 chapters. I felt like these spoke directly to me and my experiences in life. The basic gist is that we will only continue to suffer if we try to avoid facing our "demons" and that life doesn't start when we get this or that desired thing-- we are already living our lives and if we can bring ourselves into the present moment and accept it for what it is, we will find peace. I would give 5 stars for these last few chapters alone, but unfortunately, the rest of the book wasn't as strong.