i did not find any new information or concepts in the text--tended toward platitudes and generalizations without much specific help for the reader.

Essential. I am a big fan of all of Pema's works, this is no exception. Highly recommend. This is a book that I will continue to turn to for strength and devotion.

Pema Chodron’s “Welcoming the Unwelcome” is a transformational book that gets to the heart of the matter; the matter of life, love, togetherness, and expanding our capacity for compassion for both ourselves and others. Chodron, with profound wisdom, insightful stories, and practical meditations unlocks the key to a better us and a better world! An inspirational read!

My values come mainly from Buddhism - more specifically that type of adapted Western Buddhism that Chogyam Trungpa (Pema Chodron's guru) brought to the West in the nineteen sixties and seventies. Having studied, and lived by, those tenets for nearly fifty years I was hoping for something new from PC's latest book. Eventually I found just enough to make the reading worthwhile and to be able to recommend it. Most especially the touching honesty through which she describes her own "failings". Like all of us, she has many, and in line with the premis of the book's title, all of them represent opportunities for growth. What annoyed me somewhat was the rather dreary early sections where we are made to feel like everything is on a fast downhill slide and this particular brand of religion has the answers. Rather like those annoying missionaries who arrive at your front door and immediately start telling you how miserable you, and the planet, are. Prior to their arrival you weren't thinking that way at all! There's no reason to think that things are any worse than any other era. Anyway, Pema goes on to give us lots of different examples of negative states of mind and some good ideas how to handle them. Some solutions come from her own life and others by quoting other eminent (and ordinary) peoples' stories. She touches on one of the biggest personal stories when she says... "the ultimate challenge for any student comes if they find out that their teacher has betrayed their trust." If you don't know what she's referring to here just have a look at Chogyam Trungpa's bio and you'll understand fully why PC is highly qualified to advise us on making sweet lemonade from very bitter lemons.

Pema is brilliant in her own way, and this book provides some great guidance. It includes helping create ongoing perspective by asking "does it matter?". It also covers topics like awareness and ego. With her usual stories and humor she give solid suggestions and practical wisdom. Highly recommended.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

Another wise and wonderful book by one of our most beloved authors. The information here is profound and transformative and I am deeply honored to be one of the first to partake of it and to begin to digest it all. Welcoming that which we don’t want in our lives is not an easy thing although the rewards are great and ripple ever outward. Pema’s New book shows us how and holds our hand through the process.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Pema Chodron is a fabulous author that has written some wonderful books. Welcoming the Unwelcome is one of her best books and she has such great insights. This is a great present for people.