Synopses & Reviews
As a small child, Rachel Remen sat at the feet of her grandfather, an orthodox rabbi and scholar of the kabbalah, and learned the secret of life: that love and blessings given to others heals our loneliness, unhappiness, and in fact all our wounds. Remen uses her power as a master storyteller to bring to life the extraordinary blessings of ordinary existence. These exquisite pieces show us how we bless and serve each other most often without knowing it, how much life gives to us, and how many of our own blessings we have still yet to receive.
There is nothing more comforting than hearing Rachel's grandfather speak of love, life, and God to a small, lonely, and very spiritual child who was trying to find her way in an unspiritual world. These are stories for keeping at the bedside, for those dark nights when we go out in search of our souls.
Rachel's grandfather has blessed not only his beloved granddaughter but, through her, has blessed us all.
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Through a series of unpretentious, affecting vignettes...She gently illustrates her advice through simple yet powerful stories...[an] exeptional book. (Publishers Weekly (starred review))
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One of the most extraordinarily moving books I have ever read. (Dr. Dean Ornish)
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Rachel Naomi Remen has done it again. It is a wonderful book. (Marianne Williamson, bestselling author of Illuminata)
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The stories in My Grandfather's Blessings are simple and profound, with healing lessons for all of us. (Andrew T. Weil, M.D.)
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This book is a gift to the world-which it is sure to bless. (Christiane Northrup, M.D., bestselling author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom)
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Rachel Naomi Remen is nature's gift to us, a genius of that elusive and crucial capacity, the human heart. (Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence)
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This book actually heals and inspires as you read. It is a treasure house of great love. (Jack Kornfield, bestselling author of A Path With Heart)
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This lovely book, like its author, is itself a blessing. Where some doctors treat symptoms, Dr. Remen heals souls. (Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People)
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"This book is a gift to the world—which it is sure to bless."—Christiane Northrup, M.D., bestselling author of
Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom
"The stories in My Grandfather's Blessings are simple and profound, with healing lessons for all of us."—Andrew T. Weil, M.D.
"Rachel Naomi Remen is nature's gift to us, a genius of that elusive and crucial capacity, the human heart. She has much to teach us about healing, loving, and living."—Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence
"Rachel Naomi Remen has done it again. My Grandfather's Blessings is a massage to the heart. It is a wonderful book."—Marianne Williamson, bestselling author of Illuminata
"This lovely book, like its author, is itself a blessing. Where some doctors treat symptoms, Dr. Remen heals souls."—Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People
"A lovely, warm, inspiring book for the soul."—Caroline Myss, bestselling author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Why People Don't Heal
"Through a series of unpretentious, affecting vignettes, the author of the bestseller Kitchen Table Wisdom encourages readers to recognize and celebrate the unexpected blessings in their own lives...She gently illustrates her advice through simple yet powerful stories...[an] exceptional book."—Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
Synopsis
In My Grandfather's Blessings, Rachel Naomi Remen, a cancer physician and master storyteller, uses her luminous stories to remind us of the power of our kindness and the joy of being alive.
Dr. Remen's grandfather, an orthodox rabbi and scholar of the Kabbalah, saw life as a web of connection and knew that everyone belonged to him, and that he belonged to everyone. He taught her that blessing one another is what fills our emptiness, heals our loneliness, and connects us more deeply to life.
Life has given us many more blessings than we have allowed ourselves to receive. My Grandfather's Blessings is about how we can recognize and receive our blessings and bless the life in others. Serving others heals us. Through our service we will discover our own wholenessand the way to restore hidden wholeness in the world.
About the Author
Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. has been counseling those with chronic and terminal illness for more than twenty years. She is cofounder and medical director of the Commonweal Cancer Help Program in Bolinas, California, and is currently clinical professor of family and community medicine at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine.
Table of Contents
My Grandfather's Blessings Introduction
I. Receiving Your Blessings
Blessing
Wrestling with the Angel
The Shell Game
The Spice of Life
Lot's Wife
Having What You Have
Letting Go
Owning
Keeping It Together
At the End of the Day
Remembering
Getting Real
What Matters
Teachers Everywhere
You Have to Be Present to Win
Knowing the Heart
Counting Your Chickens
L'Chaim!
II. Becoming a Blessing
Getting It Right
The Gift
Being Used
Seeing the Buddha Seed
Simply Natural
All in the Family
Transmission
Bearing Witness
The Trajectory
Holding On to the Heart
Lost and Found
Finding New Eyes
Strengthening Life
The Friend
Wisdom
III. Finding Strength, Taking Refuge
The Meeting Place
Pearls of Wisdom
The Way Through
Right Protection
From the Heart
Wholeness
The Link
Getting Clear
Being Fed
When Somebody Knows
A Place of Refuge
Coming Home
In the Gray Zone
Finding the Center
In the Beginning
Call Home
Broken
Promises, Promises
IV. The Web of Blessings
Belonging
Lifeline
Learning to Serve
We Are Enough
Finding the Connection
Breathing In and Breathing Out
The Gift of Service
Fellow Travelers
The Laying on of Hands
Choosing Your Battles
Heaven and Hell
The Wise Man
How the World Is Made
One Little Candle
Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts
V. Befriending Life
The Game
Knowing Life
Loving Life
Eggs
Finding the Way
When It Works
Habit
The Gift of New Eyes
Making a Difference
The Bottom Line
Crazy Clean
Integrity
The Path
A Matter of Life and Death
The Mirror
Who Serves?
Beyond the American Way
The Emperor's New Clothes
Forgiveness
The Gift of the Magi
Completion
Celebration
VI. Restoring the World
Lineage
Beyond Words
The Final Patient
Mystery
A Question of Style
On the Cutting Edge
Mary
After Dark
The Thirty-six
Finding Safety
The Way It Is
The Presence of God
The Friction in the System
The Reward
The Real Story
Acknowledgments
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