Customer Reviews

Storms Can't Hurt the Sky: A Buddhist Path Through Divorce

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was impossible for me to put down. It reads like an adventure mystery until the very end when you realize it was, perhaps, the delusions who dunnit! It is profoundly personal, heart wrenching, and poignant yet it's also full of humor and inspiring suggestions. Enjoy!

A beautiful book. Deeply compassionate and very helpful. It reminds me again why I'm a Buddhist, something that has been in the back burner the last few years. It highlights the rationality, common-sense, radically mind-boggling insights and practicality and timeless wisdom of Buddhism.

Cohen found Buddhism when his wife of 4.5 years left him without saying a word and never came back. Being a freelance/struggling author living in expensive NY in the middle of mundane life's challenges, his world came crashing down on him. He was torn with anger, resentment, fear, loneliness, confusion, daily mental agitation, sadness, grief...and, last but not least, longing and love of his wife and the haunting memories of the good old days. And the endless whys of how it ended the way it did.

It's recommended reading for anyone in such situation or even those who want a better relationship with their loved ones, or just want a more skillful way of dealing with life and all its issues. He wonders if things would have been different had he found Buddhism while he was still married to his wife. It helps puts things in perspective and try to understand that everyone, whoever he/she is, is in this world for one thing and one thing only: the search of happiness and the avoidance of suffering. Everyone of us responds and behaves at the level of our delusion: desirous attachment, self-cherishing and anger. If every married couple applies this wholesome understanding of their partner, imagine how many marriages can be saved.

The mind is like the sky, every thought and turbulence caused by it is like the clouds. They will all come and pass by, leaving the sky clear once again. Hence storms can't hurt the sky. It offers practical advice on how you could make the clouds and turbulence pass sooner by being aware of how your feelings are very related to your thoughts and of the inevitable process that creates the entanglement.

I am truly thankful of Cohen for this gift for helping ease my own struggle and pain (I've known all the Buddhist theories, but we all need to be reminded from time to time). I will perhaps one day write a book on the subject. This might be the best gift you've ever given to your friends or loved ones.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger...and wiser."

May all beings be happy and free from suffering.

I have read dozens of books since my separation and while many were helpful, this is the one that is profoundly changing how I feel. Gabriel Cohen helped me realize how much I control my feelings about what has happened and how I can react from now on. I read a few pages every day, taking time to digest what were some challenging propositions: understand my ex's pain? fill my heart with compassion so there's no room for anger? This is a great book no matter where you are in the breakup of a long-term relationship; it will give you the insight and tools to create a happier future.

This is a wonderful book. The author describes the end of his marriage, how difficult it was to cope with, how he discovered buddhism at some point along the way and how he was helped by what he learned.
Some books on buddhism must be read slowly in order to understand and absorb what is being said. This author skillfully interweaves his own story with buddhist ideas presented in simple terms. He's just a regular guy going about his life, and struggling, at times, the way many of us do. He's not trying to convert us to buddhism, and anyway, buddhism doesn't really conflict with other religions, it enhances them.
Even if you're not in the middle of a divorce, this book can help you get a handle on the things we all struggle with, in a fairly easy to understand way. In addition to the author's personal story, there is useful advice at the end on how to get started on your own path to understanding.

This is one of the most honest and inspiring books I've read in a long time. I loved every single page! Gabriel Cohen manages to artfully - and with a brilliantly dry humor - present a path through divorce that shows, in very practical ways, how one can mitigate the pain and confusion that is inherent in the process and how to ACTUALLY grow from it. If you are going through a divorce - or a loss of any kind - do yourself a favor and read this book.

Heard the author on NPR and was blown away so I had to get the book and check it out. Probably the greatest book I have ever read.

I purchased this recently released book as I was beginning the process of going through my own first divorce after a 30-year long relationship. Having already had a little experience with Buddhist thought, Gabriel Cohen brought me to a place where I could much more adequately handle the ups and downs of what is probably always a traumatic experience in life. Gabriel does a phenomenal job of presenting his personal path through a divorce interwoven with his growing introduction and assimilation of Buddhist thinking and coping strategies and how they could have led him on an entirely different path had he discovered them earlier. The book flows well and is easily readable in all respects. In the final outcome the reader is left with not only a road map for re-thinking, but a calm feeling that "it really doesn't have to be mortal combat". My only criticism, and I suspect Gabriel might agree in retrospect, is that the subtitle is a bit misleading. It is indeed a Buddhist path through divorce, but it is much more; it is really a Buddhist path through relationships whether they be melting down into divorce or still functioning interactions. This book has helped me immensely, and while the scenario is still unfolding for me, it may well end up being an instrumental piece in bringing my partner and I back together.

I found this book to be a stunning personal revelation of one man's experience with marriage and divorce, combined with a great deal of wisdom about what goes wrong in relationships (and how we contribute individually).

This book is a work of great personal revelation, research, and excellent writing. I learned a lot about myself from this book, some of it painful. But all of it necessary.

And I agree with the reviewer who said the title should be changed - this is not just about divorce, but about marriage, relationships, expectations, and life.

An excellent book.

I am very grateful to the author for writing such a profoundly helpful book. I have read many books as I traverse the foreign landscape of divorce, and this one has been a good friend and wise teacher. I am very appreciative of the author's honesty, humor, and inclusion of teachings of many wise authors and mentors. It has helped me make a fundamental shift in my approach to my former partner, and more importantly, in my approach to myself. I absolutely recommend it to anyone going through divorce or separation, and I wholeheartedly believe it should be required reading for everyone at any stage of a relationship. Thank you Mr. Cohen for sharing yourself so completely through this book.

This book was very enlightening and helped change my outlook. My divorce is going much more smoothly by just not reacting negatively to what is happening. Hope it helps others as much as it helped me!