From Harold S. Kushner, the author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, a book that shows us how to be our best selves even when things don't turn out as we had hoped--that is, how we can overcome life's disappointments. Kushner turns to the experience of Moses to find the requisite lessons of strength and faith. Moses towers over all others in the Old Testament: he is the man on the mountaintop to whom God speaks with unparalleled intimacy, and he leads his people out of bondage. But he is also deeply human, someone whose soaring triumphs are offset by frustration and longing: his people ignore his teachings, he is denied entrance to the Promised Land, his family suffers. But he overcomes. From the life of Moses, Kushner gleans principles that can help us deal with the problems we encounter. Through the example of Moses' remarkable resilience, we learn how to weather the disillusionment of dreams unfulfilled, the pain of a lost job or promotion, a child's failures, divorce or abandonment, and illness. We learn how to meet all disappointments with faith in ourselves and the future, and how to respond to heartbreak with understanding rather than bitterness and despair. This is a book of spiritual wisdom--as practical as it is inspiring.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Well worth the read:
Rabbi Kushner uses the story of Moses, as told in the Bible, to illustrate that although life can involve great sorrow, it also contains great happiness - and you can't have one without the other. The focus of the book is looking at ways to overcome the inevitable disappointments in life. Fortunately, it is not a formulaic how to be happy type of book.
Although based on the Bible's account of Moses' life, the message is universal and can be of help to members of all religions or those who do not hold... more info
overcoming lifes disappointments:
Rabbi Kushner is such a great writer. His style is direct and personal. It is easy to read and follow. You can skip around from chapter to chapter and still gain a lot of insight. It does not necessarily have to be read from cover to cover. Rabbi Kushner is obviously very grounded and in touch with what people need to know and how to convey information that can be quite philosophical.
Excellent:
This book is outstanding. a great source in learning to deal with and overcoming the hardest knocks life can throw at you. in my opinion Harold Kushner is one of the wise authors of our time. must read for anyone and everyone. a great clear voice in times of despair and hardship.
For anyone who's ever been disappointed:
I purchased this book shortly after it was released, but did not read it until now (a year+ later). I'm glad I waited until what, serendipitously, was just the right time. Having experienced some disappointments of late, this book based on the life of Moses and his many disappointments showed me a way of moving beyond that which did not turn out precisely as I had (arrogantly and self-centeredly) expected.
