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BOOKS IN BRIEF BOOKS IN BRIEF
Haemin Sunim, Love for Haemin Sunim, When Things
Imperfect Things. How to Don’t Go Your Way. Zen
accept yourself in a world Wisdom for Difficult Times.
striving for perfection. Penguin Penguin Life: UK. 2024.
Life: UK. 2019. pp 259 £10.99 pp 293 £14.99
www.greenpenguin.co.uk www.greenpenguin.co.uk
This wonderful book of over 30 colorful illustrations The author, having successfully written two earlier
is a collection of the author’s reflections based on books on self-help with basic Buddhist principles,
life stories shared by the audience who attended The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down
his public talks or on social media. As a result, this (2018) and Love for Imperfect Things (2019), has
book is about learning to look at the world and published his third book which also became an
ourselves more kindly and compassionately. No one international best seller.
is perfect, but that should not hold us back from
love--for the world, for one another, or even for In this latest addition to his writings, Venerable
ourselves. Venerable Haemin explained that when Haemin tells us to be positive when faced with
we treat ourselves with compassion, empathy, and great difficulties, and not to lose hope but
forgiveness, we learn to treat others the same way. regard them as opportunities for growth and
This allows us to connect with people on a deeper self-discovery, for our difficulties can even be
level, bounce back from failure, deals with feeling stepping stones to greater things in life. It a good
hurt or depressed, listen more attentively, express combination of modern positive psychology and
ourselves more clearly, and have the courage to ancient Buddhist (Zen) wisdom.
pursue what really makes us happy so we can feel
complete in ourselves. Drawing on Zen Buddhist philosophy and the
author’s own experiences, When Things Don’t
The book is divided into 8 chapters, with each Go Your Way helps you navigate life’s challenges
chapter dedicated to a specific topic. Written in easy with resilience and grace. Whether you’re dealing
to understand language, it covers topics such as Self- with rejection, uncertainty, loneliness, conflicts
Care, the Family, Empathy, Relationships, Courage, in relationships, or burnout--or simply seeking to
Healing, Enlightenment, and Acceptance. Each improve your mental and emotional well-being, the
chapter offers the reader comfort, encouragement, author offers a new spiritual perspective, one that
and wisdom so that we can learn to love ourselves, helps us face life’s challenges with greater ease and
our life, and everyone in it. EH understanding, and offers solace and courage when
we need it the most. EH
