Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of A Buddha by Tara Brach (New York, Bantam / Random House 2003)
Why you should read it: Confession. I love a little woo woo AND I need my woo woo backed by science. Self-compassion may sound flaky to or cause eye-rolling dismissal by some…but guess what? Numerous studies reveal that self-compassion is a factor in resilience. Being kind to yourself may be just the “strong” approach you need to overcome a personal or professional setback – and there is no better teacher on this subject than Tara Brach. Through story-telling, meditations, client (and personal) examples, along with bluntness and humor, she provides a roadmap for extending compassion to all the parts of ourselves (fears, pains, anxieties) we’d rather not face ever (or shove into the back of a drawer every time it appears). Instead of continuing to ignore or trying to be tough with those dreaded thoughts that block the doorway between you where you are now, and where you are meant to be, take the radical step of being kind to them instead.
