How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life: Opening Your Heart to Confidence, Intimacy, and Joy (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: journaling exercise, meditation program, Seven-Day Meditation Program, Dalai Lama, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers of popular self-help books may recognize Piver as the author of The Hard Questions: 100 Essential Questions to Ask Before You Say "I Do." But Piver has also been a student of Buddhism for 10 years and is an authorized meditation teacher. This little book distills what Piver has learned from meditation, retreats and sessions with her spiritual teacher, offering a skillful description of Buddhist meditation for the beginner. Her point is very simple: "There is a kind of happiness that is effortlessly present at all times. This happiness comes from stopping the relentless search to fulfill our own needs. It comes from relaxing with things exactly as they are." In that vein, she explores several basic Buddhist concepts and also lays out a sort of in-home retreat for greater self-awareness, a seven-day, hour-by-hour program of journaling, walks and meditation. In trying in this way to combine the more spiritual Buddhist and more pragmatic self-help genres, she produces a book that's both personal and contemplative, but that may not appeal to readers of either genre. (Apr. 5)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“I have long recommended meditation as central to a healthy lifestyle. Susan Piver teaches this important practice in a trustworthy and practical way—and shows us how to use its lessons to create a fearless life.”—Andrew Weil, M.D., author of Healthy Aging

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (December 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312355971
• ISBN-13: 978-0312355975
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #531,764 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coming in to yourself, April 28, 2007

By	Michelle Sweet (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life: Opening Your Heart to Confidence, Intimacy, and Joy (Hardcover)

When I read the title of this book I was a little taken aback--Afraid of my own life? Could I be? But Piver addresses issues and fears that are common themes in life--fears that are part of the human experience--and shows us in a methodically, and linear way, how to acknowledge and then diffuse those fears, by facing them head on. She disects some basic ideas in a very clear, direct, friendly and accessible way. It is as though Ms. Piver is sitting down to a cup of tea with you, to be that friend that listens and affirms all the crappy stuff that can happen to us, but then goes on to show us that by using the ancient practice of meditiation, ultimately, we can be ok with it. Or perhaps more accurately, it can be ok with us.

The meditation instructions are clear, specific and very accessible--and the 7 day meditation program looks like a great way take a committed practice of meditation to the next level. I'll say, it has inspired ME to get my butt to the cushion more, since reading the book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful intro to Buddhism, July 12, 2007

By	Kate (Cleveland OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life: Opening Your Heart to Confidence, Intimacy, and Joy (Hardcover)

Susan Piver's book is a wonderful introduction to Buddhism for the beginner. She explains the basic meditations of Buddhist practice with a fresh, light approach. Many Buddhist meditation texts are bogged down in background, and she skips the unnecessary details to cut to the chase. She is able to use references to the everyday situations most people encounter, and apply principles in the book.
This is my "go-to" book for my practice and I highly recommend it.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Appealing, honest, brave, July 29, 2007

By	Nicole S. Urdang (Western New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life: Opening Your Heart to Confidence, Intimacy, and Joy (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book on Buddhism that weaves Susan's own stories and challenges into the fabric of a meditation practice.
I found it accessible, straightforward, and compelling.