Overcoming Life’s Disappointments
by Harold S. Kushner
Published by Anchor Books
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Reviewed by Diane Keyes
Subtitled: Learning from Moses How to Cope with Frustration
It’s very difficult to review Rabbi Harold S. Kushner’s newest book without resorting to superlative yet hackneyed and trite descriptions. Very simply, as is always the case, if you’re looking for a clear, insightful, compassionate approach to handling life’s challenges in principled, decent and ethical ways–head for any of Rabbi Kushner’s books.
And Overcoming Life’s Disappointments is no exception. This book is for anyone who has experienced setbacks or suffered disappointment. In other words, it’s for everyone. And that is precisely the point. As Kushner so eloquently points out, disappointment, perceived failure, frustration, and defeat are a necessary part of the fabric of life.
Most of us begin with our dreams and then become disillusioned when the dreams don’t materialize in the way we expected. This clash of dreams and disillusion become the fertile ground for growth or stagnation, rebirth or defeat. The real question, Kushner says, is: How will you respond to those disappointments? Will you respond with bitterness, envy, and self-doubt, or will resilience and wisdom?”
Although the book is a wonderful overview for overcoming disappointment in general, Rabbi Kushner covers many areas very specifically such as business failure, infidelity in marriage, infertility, the birth of a special needs child, and the loss of a child. Using such notable figures as Abraham Lincoln, Sigmund Freud, and Moses, and quoting everyone from Victor Frankel to Eleanor Roosevelt , Kushner’s examples help the reader to see the universality of disappointment and the fates of those who choose to succumb or to succeed.
My only criticism is really more of a comment. It grieves me to think that many people who could profit from reading this book will not do so because of its religious context. I wish there was someone in the secular world who could make this case as effectively–but that may be the whole point.
Armchair Interviews says: Rabbi Kushner does it again with a strong, clear message.