The Places That Scare You

Some books follow us around, dogging us, goading us to read them.

A long time ago I was in a similar state of romantic distress (when oh when will I learn??) and a good friend of mine recommended I read the entire output of Pema Chodron, a Buddhist nun. He was the religion ("ideas, opinions and beliefs") buyer for a major bookstore chain and he was always trying to get us to buy his stuff. I bought the books but didn't bother to read them, and took to drinking instead.

But here I am again. And again, Pema Chodron has come back to haunt me. Her book, The Places That Scare You, was recommended without reservation by a gentle reader, and this time I am accepting the prodding of fate. I am actually reading When Things Fall Apart, since they did, and I was heartened by a passage where Chodron says she was led to Buddhism through anger at her husband. She was sipping a nice cup of tea one day and he pulled into the driveway of their home, got out of the car, slammed the door and told her their relationship was over and he wanted a divorce. This sounds so strikingly similar to what happened to me (the drive-by shooting nature of the End, the sudden-ness and one-sidedness of it) that I thought, okay. Show me how you got over it.

I'll let you know.