Welcoming the Unwelcome: Wholehearted Living in a Brokenhearted World

Pema Chödrön, a Buddhist nun in the Tibetan tradition, asks how to meet fear, anger, grief and other painful emotions without running from them. She draws on practices such as tonglen, a meditation of breathing in suffering and breathing out relief, and on the Buddhist ideas of bodhichitta and compassion. Each short chapter looks at one way to stay present with difficulty and turn it into something that makes us more open to others.

It is a good fit for people who are struggling and want a gentler approach than self-improvement. Expect warm, direct teaching and exercises you can use during a bad week.

Inward-looking and contemplative; an easy read.

Best for readers like The Empathetic Explorer. Which reader are you?