How Good Do We Have To Be? A New Understanding Of Guilt And Forgiveness

Book Summary

From the author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People comes an inspiring new bestseller that puts human feelings of guilt and inadequacy in perspective - and teaches us how we can learn to accept ourselves and others even when we and they are less than perfect. How Good Do We Have to Be? is for everyone who experiences that sense of guilt and disappointment. Harold Kushner, writing with his customary generosity and wisdom, shows us how human life is too complex for anyone to live it without making mistakes, and why we need not fear the loss of God's love when we are less than perfect. Harold Kushner begins by offering a radically new interpretation of the story of Adam and Eve, which he sees as a tale of Paradise Outgrown rather than Paradise Lost: eating from the Tree of Knowledge was not an act of disobedience, but a brave step forward toward becoming human, complete with the richness of work, sexuality and child-rearing, and a sense of our mortality. Drawing on modern literature, psychology, theology, and his own thirty years of experience as a congregational rabbi, Harold Kushner reveals how acceptance and forgiveness can change our relationships with the most important people in our lives and help us meet the bold and rewarding challenge of being human. This inspiring bestseller, which has already touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of readers since its publication in hardcover last fall, is a book that puts human shortcomings in perspective -- and explains how we can better love ourselves and others. No one is perfect. Yet many people measure themselves and others against impossibly high standards. The result: guilt, anger, depression, and disappointment. How Good Do We Have to Be? is a book for everyone who has experienced these feelings. Harold Kushner writes with his customary generosity and wisdom as he reveals why we need not fear the loss of God's love when we make mistakes. Drawing on the Bible, modern literature, psychology, theology, and his own thirty years as a congregational rabbi, Kushner shows how acceptance and forgiveness can change our relationships with the most important people in our lives and help us meet the challenge of being human.

Book Details