June Book of the Month

By Patricia McGuire, LPC-MHSP

The Book of the Month for June 2024 is Radical Acceptance: Awakening the Love that Heals Fear and Shame by Tara Brach.

From the back cover: “Feelings of self-doubt and insecurity are what hold us back in life and cause true suffering…Drawing on personal stories, Buddhist teaching and guided meditations, Tara…reveals how we can develop the balance of clear-sightedness and compassion, heal fear and shame and build loving, authentic relationships.”

Radical acceptance is letting go of what we cannot control and accepting reality as it is and accepting our responses to reality. This does not mean we like or approve of reality (i.e. we may accept war and violence as a reality in our world, and we accept the emotions in us, but do not approve of or like it).

Tara Brach embeds radical acceptance tenets into real life stories through utilizing mindfulness and self-compassion practices from cutting edge studies. With exquisite guided meditations to help you meet your suffering with compassion, this book is practical and philosophical.

A caveat: While the religious themes/tones may be a bit much for some, I think the overall underpinnings of mindfulness and its transformative power are worth exploring in depth with the honesty and clarity of Tara Brach.

Go deeper: https://www.tarabrach.com/books/radical-acceptance/

If this resonated with you and you’d like to explore these ideas further, connect with Patricia McGuire Counseling here