Overview

A searing and poignant memoir of parental love, unthinkable loss, and the power of grief to open our hearts and connect us to others. Grief can be profoundly disorienting and traumatic. Yet it can also open our hearts, strengthening our empathy, affection, and compassion for others. It may even open us up to new forms of joy. In this heartrending memoir, business executive and Buddhist Bryan Welch movingly recounts his own journey through deep grief at the unimaginable loss of his 25-year-old son. In unflinching detail, the book describes the pain of parents grappling with their adult son's addiction, and his eventual death from the disease. As Welch begins the monumental process of recovering from devastating parental grief, his vulnerability transforms into unexpected feelings of warmth, kinship, and compassion toward other people. This, as much as debilitating grief, is part of his son's legacy, and he begins exploring practical, psychological, and spiritual ways of honoring that legacy and sustaining a more compassionate, less egotistical view of the world. Grief is a part of every human life. We desperately try to avoid it, but it can also provide profound guidance for how we can experience life, and love, more deeply. This book explores how our own vulnerability as human beings can help us heal the traumas that separate us from one another, and may even lead us toward a more loving and connected world.

Full Product Details

9781648488429

Table of Contents

Reviews

""The Gift of a Broken Heart feels like the fruits of an intense labor of love, in the fullest meaning of the word. Love for a child; love for yourself; love for the world. I was moved by Bryan's vulnerability. He's gone deep and come back to share something painfully beautiful. I imagine and hope these words will reach and be helpful to many."" --Jay Coen Gilbert, cofounder of B Lab and White Men for Racial Justice --Jay Coen Gilbert ""The Gift of a Broken Heart is a gift--the gift of embracing our grief, and at the same time, transforming it into wisdom and compassion. When we truly pay attention, this is our life's work, and this book is a heartfelt, excellent guide."" --Marc Lesser, author of Seven Practices of a Mindful Leader --Marc Lesser ""The Gift of a Broken Heart recounts the intensely unsettling aftermath of a crack that fractured a comfortable life, and the deep compassion and fresh perspectives that emerged out of it. Raw. Tender. Honest. Insightful. A gripping human story we pray never to experience."" --Greg Hildenbrand, author of Praying with One Eye Open and Churchianity vs. Christianity --Greg Hildenbrand ""Gratitude to Bryan for his bravery in breaking the professional wall between journalist and subject by sharing the tragic, exhilarating, and raw life of his son, Noah. Sharing the impact Noah's life and death had on an interconnected world of sentient beings--most with no direct connection to him--who share the endless cycle of birth and death is a gift of generosity. Each transition is worthy of celebration, mourning, and gratitude."" --Charles G. Lief, president emeritus at Naropa University --Charles G. Lief ""Here, Bryan offers us a poetry of profound grief that is both unbearable and majestic--a love and loneliness that is noble, gentle, and brave. Take your time with this story, good reader. Drink easy and deep as you journey into the fullest depth of your human heart."" --Michael Carroll, Buddhist teacher, and author of Awake at Work --Michael Carroll ""In The Gift of a Broken Heart, Bryan Welch shares how his grief shaped and expanded his heart, reminding us of the possibility for deeper connection and meaning when we are willing to fully feel even the most painful emotions."" --Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Life --Sharon Salzberg ""Welch's memoir is a tender account of a parent's worst nightmare: seeing a beloved child succumb to addiction and death. Bryan shares his self-doubts, regrets, and aching heart at this tragic loss and how he eventually found meaning--and even came to treasure that broken-heartedness."" --Judith Lief, Buddhist teacher, author of Making Friends with Death, and the mother of a child struggling with addiction --Judith Lief ""With humility, grace, and honesty, Bryan brings us one of the most important realizations we can make as human beings: grief is always with us, but it is not an obstacle to joy. Resisting and denying our grief can hurt us in many ways, but the acceptance of impermanence and grief can open doors to joy, compassion, and human connection. This book tells Bryan's own powerful story with clarity and beauty, and takes us along on his path toward a more helpful and beneficial life."" --David Nichtern, author of Awakening from the Daydream --David Nichtern ""With searing honesty and tenderness, The Gift of a Broken Heart invites us into the sacred ground of grief, where compassion deepens and love is revealed to be boundless. Bryan Welch's words are a true offering--a light in the darkness, a companion for the journey."" --Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance and Radical Compassion --Tara Brach, PhD

Author Information

Bryan Welch is a business executive, writer, farmer, and entrepreneur. For nineteen years, from its founding, he ran Ogden Publications, Mother Earth News, Mother Earth Living, Utne Reader, and several other leading media brands focused on sustainability and natural health. More recently, he served as co-CEO of Silk Grass Holdings, a family office developing 32,000 acres of regenerative organic farms and wildlife preserves in Belize. He was founder and CEO of B The Change Media, a multiplatform media company focused on business as a force for good in the world; and was CEO of Mindful Communications, a media and corporate meditation-training company; and CEO of Foster Care Technologies, a B Corporation that provides software that improves placements of children in foster care. Welch has served on the boards of the Silk Grass Farms, the Magazine Publishers Association, the Social Venture Network, Down Home Ranch Foundation, and several nonprofits. He has also served on corporate boards of directors and advisory boards of companies involved in natural foods, agriculture, food processing, e-commerce, corporate training, and the media. He holds a master's degree from Harvard University, where he studied at the Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Business School. As a Buddhist, Welch is a longtime meditator and advocate for mindfulness practices. Foreword writer Shelly Tygielski is cofounder of Partners in Kind, a media and production company and equity fund that focuses on funding, developing, and producing social impact entertainment. She is a grassroots organizer, activist, and philanthropist whose work has been featured in The New York Times, Time magazine, The Kelly Clarkson Show, and CBS This Morning. Tygielski is author of Sit Down to Rise Up and How We Ended Racism. Afterword writer Barry Boyce is founding editor of Mindful magazine and mindful.org. A longtime professional writer and editor--as well as a meditation teacher--he is editor and primary contributor to The Mindfulness Revolution, and is coauthor of The Rules of Victory.

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