Tiny Buddha, Simple Wisdom for Life's Hard Questions [Hardcover]

Lori Deschene (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 8, 2011

Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? How can we feel happy and free? The answers to these and other life questions are gathered in Tiny Buddha, Simple Wisdom for Life's Hard Questions.

Tiny Buddha began as a quote-a-day Twitter account, @tinybuddha, in 2008. Lori Deschene's daily wisdom posts about mindfulness, non-attachment, and happiness became so popular that she now has more than 200,000 twitter followers who share quotes and stories about inspiration in their daily lives.

Deschene asked her Twitter followers to contribute their thoughts and perspectives on the difficult questions that influence how we live our everyday lives: thoughts about the meaning of life, pain, happiness, fate, and more.

Tiny Buddha, Simple Wisdom for Life's Hard Questions is a combination of the amazing responses that she received along with her own insightful essays, and insights from wise teachers around the world and throughout time. Deschene explores how these issues have played out in her own life and offers action-oriented suggestions to help people empower themselves, even in a world with so much uncertainty. The result is a guide that helps readers discover the endless possibilities for a life lived mindfully in the present, and connected to others.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lori Deschene doesn't claim to be anybody's guru. But it's that lack of pretense and her total candor--how she tells her own often-wild story without flinching--that is so magnetic, inviting a sense of ease with our own wrinkles, too, and fostering a sense of personal possibility. As she asks: Are you ready to be free?" --Margaret Roach, author of And I Shall Have Some Peace There

"How can we find happiness and peace--right now, right here? In her engaging, thought-provoking book Tiny Buddha, Lori Deschene explores this enormous question to help readers grapple with challenges like money, love, pain, control, and meaning, in order to find greater happiness." --Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project

"I spent months retweeting posts from a mystery handle called @tinybuddha. I wasn't the only one: Hundreds of thousands of people followed the daily messages. I was intrigued and made it a point to meet the woman behind the message. Today Lori Deschene is a friend and fellow author who spreads truth and inspiration throughout the twittersphere, her blog, and now her new book! Lori has shifted the energy of the Internet with her loving daily posts and now she is sharing more with the world through her incredible book Tiny Buddha!" --Gabrielle Bernstein, author of Add More -ing to Your Life and Spirit Junkie

"Lori is one of a kind. Her amazing heart and wisdom shine through in everything she writes! I am a HUGE fan of Tiny Buddha and I'm constantly inspired by Lori and her work." -Mastin Kipp, founder of The Daily Love (thedailylove.com)

"Tiny Buddha is a moving and insightful synthesis of evocative stories and ancient wisdom applied to modern life. Great read!" --Jonathan Fields, author of Uncertainty

"There's nothing tiny about the extra-large dose of awesome stuffed into Lori's writing. Read it and feel good about the world." --Neil Pasricha, founder and author, 1000 Awesome Things, The Book of Awesome

"Few people in our time have more passionately or more creatively applied wisdom teachings to a new digital generation than Lori Deschene. I am continually inspired by her writing, and also by her sincere dedication to learning, growth, and wisdom. I feel tremendously fortunate to have had the chance to get to know her work through Tiny Buddha, and to know her as a person. Both embody the same essential truths." --Soren Gordhamer, founder and author, Wisdom 2.0

About the Author

Lori Deschene is the founder of tinybuddha.com, a community of thousands of people interested in sharing wisdom for a happier life. She is a regular speaker at Wisdom2.0 and a freelance writer whose work has appeared in national magazines. This is her first book. Visit her at: www.tinybuddha.com

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Conari Press (December 8, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573245062
• ISBN-13: 978-1573245067
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 6.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Theres a Tiny Buddha in my Kindle December 14, 2011

By Lubna

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Tiny Buddha's online presence has been an inspiration to me for some time and this book is an extension of that. I really appreciate Lori's story as it is similar to mine. I am glad to have this on my Kindle to refer to when I need a little boost here and there. If you haven't checked out the Tiny Buddha website be sure to do so. The stories are always uplifting. I really hope this book gets into the hands of more people as we all need a Tiny Buddha in our lives these days. Blessings.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Big Wisdom in a Tiny Package April 21, 2012

By Maia Duerr

Format:Hardcover

Here's what you need to know about this book, in a nutshell:

Insightful - Don't let the sub-title fool you. The wisdom here may be "simple," but it is not superficial. This book really does grapple with life's difficult questions, which fall into nine categories: Pain, Meaning, Change, Fate, Happiness, Love, Money, Possibilities, Control. The questions themselves are compelling. Some of them include:

* "Can people change, and how?"
* "What does it take to be happy?"
* "Why are relationships hard?"

Lori offers her own insights as well as those of other people, and includes some very pragmatic tips for dealing with these challenges, such as a section of tips on how to "meet your future money expectations in the present" in the Money section.

Let me put it this way -- there are 272 pages in this book. Not one of them is wasted. This book is dense with wisdom!

Generous -- Lori graciously opened up her book (as she does with her website) to many voices of wisdom. This is a collaborative book, in the truest sense of the word. She invited people to contribute their answers via Twitter; nearly 1000 people responded. Lori read each of their answers and shaped the book around the suggestions in the tweets. The result is a fascinating collection of diverse perspectives on life.

Hidden Jewel -- I first heard Lori speak at Wisdom 2.0 in 2010, and my impression was that she was one of those people who just has "everything together," and probably has an easy time of life. So when I read Tiny Buddha, I was blown away by how courageously Lori shares her own story of facing loneliness, financial challenges, depression, and inadequacy. By the end of the book, I felt like I was given a glimpse of another person's soul, and I am deeply grateful to Lori for sharing her story so honestly so that others might also be able to grow from it. That, to me, is the definition of a bodhisattva.

To sum up, this is a wonderful book to keep by your bedside as challenging questions and situations come up in your own life. Lori is wise beyond her years, and we can all benefit from what she has created here with Tiny Buddha.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So very full of valuable, useful ideas and thoughts December 9, 2011

By David J. Singer

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was eager to receive Lori's book. Lori is my favorite blogger. Her posts on Tiny Buddha are simple yet deep, practical yet not obvious, and plentiful yet not overwhelming. Lori's book is full of the same positives as her blog. On her blog, Lori regularly provides suggestions from her life experiences; in the book that's even more compelling as she weaves her life story, her struggles, and her growth into the narrative. I read the book straight through, because that's what I do. (Others will read it over time. This book works either way.) Now I'm going back and reviewing my notes and I'm looking forward to incorporating into my life, over time, the many ideas I took from the book, which will then take its place on the bookshelf that holds my other favorite books.
- David J. Singer, author of Six Simple Rules for a Better Life: Practical, achievable ways to be happier, healthier and more...