Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better

"Chodron is one of the rock stars of contemporary spiritual life. Born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown in New York City, the author converted to Buddhism in her thirties, became a disciple of Choegyam Trungpa, and ultimately the leader of the Boulder Shambhala Center in Colorado. She is also the author of such works as The Wisdom of No Escape and Start From Where You Are, which brought her a wide, attentive audience. This latest book arose from a request to speak at her granddaughter's commencement. Chodron presents wisdom inherent in allowing oneself to fail. The text has been enlarged by brushstroke-like artwork, a follow-up interview with Sounds True founder and publisher Tami Simon, and an introduction by entrepreneur Seth Godin. VERDICT This brief text has all of the pleasures of a stocking-stuffer but is suitable to other seasons as well and by no means limited in its appeal to followers of Buddhism or recent graduates." --Library Journal

"For Boulder, Colo.-based Naropa University's 2014 commencement ceremony, Choedroen (When Things Fall Apart) told new graduates that knowing how to fail well is an essential--and neglected--life skill. Choedroen, an American Buddhist nun, popular author, and student of the late Choegyam Trungpa, urges her audience to hold the 'rawness of vulnerability in [your] heart' rather than blaming self or others. This volume pairs a transcript of the very short speech, accompanied by abstract black and white drawings, with a more substantive interview with her publisher, in which Choedroen talks candidly about her personal experiences with failure and explores self-hatred, human goodness, and fear. She provides insightful suggestions for how to move forward into life despite crushing failure, how to turn regret into empathy and compassion, and how to cope gracefully with a failing body. This small book, an appropriate gift for recent graduates or anyone facing a challenging transition, also contains sustenance for loyal Choedroen fans, and introduces new readers to her gentle wisdom for living in a 'world where there are a lot of things that aren't fixable." --Publishers Weekly

"Pema Choedroen promised to speak at her granddaughter's graduation from Naropa University. When asked what her speech would be about, she declined to answer because she had decided to speak to those enthusiastic young graduates about failure. True to her compassionate nature, it turned out to be some of the best advice they would ever receive. She described failing as getting good at holding the rawness of vulnerability in your heart. She encouraged them to embrace the discomfort of failure rather than blaming others or themselves. She recounted her own painful struggle with turning failure into strength. She suggested that failure is just a shift in the direction of our lives. The last section of the book is a follow-up interview with her which was conducted by Founder & CEO of Sounds True, Tami Simon. During Simon's interview she had the chance to discuss the deeper layers of the ideas she had offered to those young people. Choedroen has a talent for connecting mind to mind through the heart. This book is another beautiful example of her skill." --Anna Jedrziewski, Retailing Insight