Which Way Is Up? Finding Heart in the Hardest of Times

by Chapman, Susan Gillis

• ISBN13: 9781645472131
• ISBN10: 1645472132
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780834845749
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2024-06-04
• Publisher: Shambhala
• More Book Details

Summary

A heartfelt guide for meeting difficult times with mindfulness, compassion, and courage—from a psychotherapist and Buddhist practitioner who learned from her own crisis.

Features explorations of the three types of fear and practices to transform into opportunities for personal growth.

This heartfelt guide transforms challenging times into surmountable journeys that we can emerge from by learning how to work with—rather than against—fear. Drawing from traditional Buddhist teachings on the bardo, a Tibetan word most often associated with the period between death and rebirth, Buddhist practitioner Susan Gillis Chapman offers guidance for those times when life seems to turn upside down. Amidst such difficulties—whether it’s navigating the end of a relationship, a health scare, or other unexpected challenges—the fearful mind tends to panic. But Chapman, informed by her years working as psychotherapist, skillfully intercepts our uncertainty to show how we can let go of assumptions and allow something new to be reborn.

Using personal examples from her own bardo crisis—navigating a cancer diagnosis during the pandemic—and offering contemplative prompts for inner-reflection and meditation practices throughout, she demystifies the main kinds of fear people experience and reveals how to meet them with love. This powerful resource will help restore equilibrium when life feels chaotic, and what’s more, uncover truly transformative opportunities for personal growth in even the most difficult circumstances.

Author Biography

Susan Gillis Chapman is a Buddhist teacher, retired couples and family therapist, and former faculty-member for Karuna Training. After the publication of her first book,The Five Keys to Mindful Communication, in 2012, Susan began teaching extensively in Europe and North America. 

Her Buddhist training began fifty years ago when she became a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1974, After his passing, she studied with Thrangu Rinpoche, who directed her to complete the Kagyu three-year retreat at Gampo Abbey. He later appointed her to be Drupon, or retreat master, for another six years. In her years at the Abbey, she began a mentoring relationship with Pema Chodron that continues to this day. In 2012 she was appointed as an Acharya to the Shambhala Community by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche. She retired in 2020 when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.

Susan's new book, Which Way is Up? uses stories from her cancer journey as examples of how to bring loving kindness to the fears that arise in a life-crisis. As the book launches in the summer of 2024, Susan is rebuilding her health and teaching part-time. Mostly, she's enjoying life with her husband, Jerry, in Burnaby, British Columbia and their cat, Ziji.  Susan's close family includes three sisters, her adult son, Sheehan, and two stepdaughters, Sarah and Autumn.