Rating: 
Summary: How Good Do We Have to Be
Review: A life changing book. It liberated me to not be so critical and judgemental of others and myself. It gives sound guidance on many areas of real importance: marriage, death, God, shame, and guilt especially. I will get it for each of my 4 sons.
Rating: 
Summary: Refreshing View
Review: A thoroughly enjoyable read that has surprising depth of feeling about people's basic goodness and our shared need to embrace our own humanity. Some of Kushner's advice may seem a bit pithy when faced with the blood guilt of those who have endured great evil and through their professions were faced with death and tragedy, but for the more common predilection for angst based on imagined ills brought on by religious self-intolerance, this book offers a fresh perspective and practical advice that makes sense of so many anxieties suffered by the truly devout. David R. Bannon, Ph.D.; author "Race Against Evil."
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing View
Review: A thoroughly enjoyable read that has surprising depth of feeling about people's basic goodness and our shared need to embrace our own humanity. Some of Kushner's advice may seem a bit pithy when faced with the blood guilt of those who have endured great evil and through their professions were faced with death and tragedy, but for the more common predilection for angst based on imagined ills brought on by religious self-intolerance, this book offers a fresh perspective and practical advice that makes sense of so many anxieties suffered by the truly devout. David R. Bannon, Ph.D.; author "Race Against Evil."
Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Antidote to Poisonous Religious Experiences
Review: After reading the title and thinking that this book was going to be full of excuses, I was pleasantly surprised by its depth and wisdom. After finishing it, I wished I knew Kushner, his wisdom and insight so impressed me. I feel his picture of religion is what religion was meant to be, not condemning but loving & liberating. Unlike another reviewer, I did not find the book to be harsh on men; instead, it treated issues relevant to both sexes. Too, I thought "How the Story Might Have Ended" was beautiful, and brought me to tears. The book often references other works, and these are enjoyable reads as well.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: Excellent book, very encouraging and helpful, helped me personally a great deal
Rating:
Summary: KUSHNER IS GOLD
Review: Harold Kushner is, quite possibly, the wisest person in America today. I try to read him at least a few minutes each day -- much to my soul's delight.
Rating:
Summary: One Day of Reading - A Whole Lifetime of Guilt Removed!
Review: Having been raised in a family of six children, I was certainly able to relate to the sibling rivalry that existed because of original sin. This book was read in one day, and removed from me a whole lifetime of guilt from not understanding the bigger picture of my family's hardship. All of my other brothers and sisters are getting this book as a present this year, so that they too can understsand how God's love for us as individuals overcomes any childhood adversity we may have had. In addition, the myth of how Eve was created as a second to Adam was destroyed forever. Now as I prepare to enter into a marriage with 'my better half', I am able to realize the importance of finding the other person that completes you spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Thank you Harold Kushner!
Rating:
Summary: Bless Your Imperfections
Review: I don't know if it is because I've read 3 other books by Rabbi Kushner, or because from the first words to the last words reading this book I feel like I am having a conversation with him. This includes many questions about life, the human condition, and religion that I have carried with me for a long time.If someone had mentioned religion, God, or related words to me before discovering both Rabbi Kushner, and Dennis Prager, I would have been ready to bolt for the nearest door, because that had signaled what I called "Bible-thumpin time." So, no matter where you stand on religion, politics, or the human condition, I invite you to open your mind to the possibility of forgiveness. With the subtitle being "A New Understanding of Guilt and Forgiveness," it's nice to notice that throughout this book Kushner discusses many examples of what guilt has been for us. He uses "The Original Sin;" "Paradise Lost;" and many other stories that show how we have interpreted God's expectations of us to mean that we are born sinners who must become perfect. Which of course is not, as he points out, God's expectations of us. Kushner adds, "My experiences as a clergyman and a counselor has taught me that much of the unhappiness people feel burdened by, much of the guilt, much of the sense of having been cheated by life, stems from one of two related causes: either somewhere along the way, somebody - a parent, a teacher, a religious leader - gave them the message that they were not good enough, and they believed it. Or else they came to expect and need more from the people around them --- their parents, children, husbands, or wives - than those people could realistically deliver." His suggestion is that the story of the Garden of Eden is the story of the first human beings graduating from the uncomplicated world to knowinging that good and evil exists; and that what is most important to us, as human beings is to live with integrity. This book also suggests that if Adam and Eve had not eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, they would not have had needs, feelings, or individual thoughts. So, it would not have mattered what happened around them. A year ago, I asked a prominent religious leader in San Diego, "Do you believe that the active members of your church know what religion means to them - not your interpretation, theirs?" This got his attention, and began a great collaboration. Religion, as Rabbi Kushner describes in this book is, "... the voice that says, I will guide you through this minefield of difficult moral choices, sharing with you the insights and experiences of the greatest souls of the past, and I will offer you comfort and forgiveness when you are troubled by the painful choices you made." Imagine if millions are guided by Rabbi Kushner's definition of religion - wouldn't we be more accepting of unique differences? Wouldn't we accept our limitations - and, by accepting them, evolve beyond our wildest dreams? Wouldn't we simultaneously be enough, while we win more than we lose? And wouldn't we laugh more?
Rating:
Summary: Bless Your Imperfections
Review: I don't know if it is because I've read 3 other books by Rabbi Kushner, or because from the first words to the last words reading this book I feel like I am having a conversation with him. This includes many questions about life, the human condition, and religion that I have carried with me for a long time. If someone had mentioned religion, God, or related words to me before discovering both Rabbi Kushner, and Dennis Prager, I would have been ready to bolt for the nearest door, because that had signaled what I called "Bible-thumpin time." So, no matter where you stand on religion, politics, or the human condition, I invite you to open your mind to the possibility of forgiveness. With the subtitle being "A New Understanding of Guilt and Forgiveness," it's nice to notice that throughout this book Kushner discusses many examples of what guilt has been for us. He uses "The Original Sin;" "Paradise Lost;" and many other stories that show how we have interpreted God's expectations of us to mean that we are born sinners who must become perfect. Which of course is not, as he points out, God's expectations of us. Kushner adds, "My experiences as a clergyman and a counselor has taught me that much of the unhappiness people feel burdened by, much of the guilt, much of the sense of having been cheated by life, stems from one of two related causes: either somewhere along the way, somebody - a parent, a teacher, a religious leader - gave them the message that they were not good enough, and they believed it. Or else they came to expect and need more from the people around them --- their parents, children, husbands, or wives - than those people could realistically deliver." His suggestion is that the story of the Garden of Eden is the story of the first human beings graduating from the uncomplicated world to knowinging that good and evil exists; and that what is most important to us, as human beings is to live with integrity. This book also suggests that if Adam and Eve had not eaten from the Tree of Knowledge, they would not have had needs, feelings, or individual thoughts. So, it would not have mattered what happened around them. A year ago, I asked a prominent religious leader in San Diego, "Do you believe that the active members of your church know what religion means to them - not your interpretation, theirs?" This got his attention, and began a great collaboration. Religion, as Rabbi Kushner describes in this book is, "... the voice that says, I will guide you through this minefield of difficult moral choices, sharing with you the insights and experiences of the greatest souls of the past, and I will offer you comfort and forgiveness when you are troubled by the painful choices you made." Imagine if millions are guided by Rabbi Kushner's definition of religion - wouldn't we be more accepting of unique differences? Wouldn't we accept our limitations - and, by accepting them, evolve beyond our wildest dreams? Wouldn't we simultaneously be enough, while we win more than we lose? And wouldn't we laugh more?
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, but critical of men
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. It gave
me a new insight on the story of Adam and Eve
and on guilt, sexuality, and the fact that we
people of this earth are only human. However,
I am curious to know whether Harold Kushner
has something against men. The most obvious
example is in Chapter 3. Here, he criticizes men
for not attending therapy sessions as often as
women do. This one section left a bad taste in
my mouth and spoiled this otherwise wonderful
book.
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