Storms Can't Hurt the Sky: The Buddhist Path Through Divorce

When his wife walks out on him, novelist Cohen (Red Hook) is stunned: ""I didn't call out, didn't follow her to the door, I just lay down on the couch... as if I was settling into the coffin of our marriage."" How he gets through the subsequent weeks and months provides the focus for this philosophical self-help. Cohen isn't trying to convert anyone, just passing along the key Buddhist principles he gleaned from a few lectures and applied to his own situation. Sound advice and short chapters fill his narrative of recovery, unadorned by bullet-pointed lists, side-bars or ""get-enlightened-quick schemes,"" which should do much to engage readers and keep them that way. Subjects like anger management, self-pity and substance abuse lead Cohen to the heart of Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths that promise an end to suffering for anyone: ""Our sadness and happiness and anger... come only from within,"" meaning that control over them can and must also come from within. Encouraging and accessible throughout, Cohen's book will make a useful tool for readers going through a difficult break-up.