About this title: Written when confronted with the death of his own son, Rabbi Kushner's book looks to solace those people who have been "hurt by life" and who want to achieve and understanding of why they were hurt and how to proceed with living and with loving God.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Pan Books
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780330268271ISBN:0330268279
Description: Good. This book is in GOOD overall condition. It shows signs of having been read and has general light wear to the cover, spine and pages. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Pan Books
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780330268271ISBN:0330268279
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Pan Books
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780330268271ISBN:0330268279
Description: Good. PAPERBACK BOOK-GOOD OVERALL CONDITION-TRUSTED DEVON (UK) BASED SELLER-IN STOCK-SENT WITHIN 1 WORKING DAY-AVAILABLE BY EMAIL FOR QUERIES-NO QUIBBLE REFUND IF NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED- read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Schocken Books
Date Published: 1981
ISBN-13:9780805237733ISBN:0805237739
Description: Good in fair dust jacket. Signed by previous owner. Nice hard cover, lightly read, some shelf wear & aging to dust jacket, light aging to pages, stk #2402q7. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 149 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Avon Books
Date Published: 1983
ISBN-13:9780380603923ISBN:0380603926
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Nice soft cover, lightly read, light shelf wear to cover, top corner of one page turned down, light crease along spine, slight rippling to pages, stk #2396n7. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 160 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Avon Books
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780380603923ISBN:0380603926
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. pb text clean solid cover worn smoke free. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 160 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Avon Books
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780380603923ISBN:0380603926
Description: Good. No Jacket. Ex-Library Copy With Usual Markings, Edges Bumped, Spine Creased, Cover Page Removed, Text Is Unmarked, Good Reading Copy. read more
"I found this book to be a genuine, honest attempt to speak of a God who cares. There is no definitive answer to the problem of pain and grief, but Harold Kushner offers insight and challenges into our dealing with it. There is both comfort and mystery offered in an unsolvable human condition.
I have lent and recommended this book to several people, all of whom declared it helpful."
"I was introduced to this book when my college professor lent me his copy of the book and the next day my house flooded destroying everything I owned (we call this God's irony). My professor was very understanding that his book was ruined and stated it was a page right of the book.
The book itself is amazing and I love any book by the Jewish rabbi, Harold Kushner. He does an amazing job writing for a broad audience and also making it quite entertaining. Highly recommend this book."
"This book was extremely interesting. It offered lots of really thought provoking ideas and views. From that point of view, I enjoyed it. However, I did not find that it made me feel better about anything- there was no answer or no comfort- it just reiterated the fact that yes, bad things do in fact happen to good people."
"The byline of this book is "for everyone who has been hurt by life..."
The author, a rabbi by the name of Harold S Kushner, wrote this book because he had been hurt by life. His only son was born with progeria, "rapid aging". His son died two days after his fourteenth birthday and When Bad Things Happen to Good People was the result of the pain and hurt the author felt. But, more importantly, it was the sharing of how his faith was tested to the extreme and the conclusions he made in the end that helped him carry on with life.
Not being much of a religious person, I was a little taken aback when I realised the direction the book was taking from the start. However, the author writes in a manner that is absorbing and touching and I found I couldn't put the book down. More than once I felt that all familiar lump choke my throat and tears well in my eyes as I felt he was talking directly to me.
As I turned the pages I felt something stir within me. The fundamental message of this book is that God is not all powerful, He is not perfect and He is not to blame for bringing the bad things into our lives. He is not punishing us for things we have done wrong, He is not piling grief and sadness onto our shoulders because He thinks we can handle it and He is not sitting back looking down on the world enjoying what He is seeing.
Bad things happen to good people, bad people and indifferent people. No one is favoured, no one is spared. But it is not God's doing. It's just life and nature. God is there to help us through those bad times. He will give us the strength, perseverance and the courage we need. He will walk beside us and offer us comfort.
In order to let us be free, in order to let us be human, God has to leave us free to choose to do right or to do wrong. If we are not free to choose evil, then we are not free to choose good either. Like the animal, we can only be convenient or inconvenient, obedient or disobedient. We can no longer be moral, which means we can no longer be human.
~ Harold S Kushner ~
If God is not to blame, who is? I never blamed a God I wasn't even sure existed when I lost my son to suicide. How could I blame God for that? I blamed myself for the loss of my son. To me, something I had done had bought this about, but When Bad Things Happen to Good People has helped me see that I'm not to blame either. I am not to blame! However, I can see how a mother of a child who dies from cancer might blame God. Or why the parents of a child who is handicapped feel as if they have been abandoned by God. These things are not fair and in the midst of pain and grief, we automatically want to blame someone for what has happened. This book helps the reader see that no one is to blame. Life is cruel and so is nature, but no one is to blame.
When Bad Things Happen to Good People helped me see that I shouldn't be asking why this has happened to me. The simple fact is that it did happen and nothing I can do will change the fact that my son is gone. I have to stop asking why this happened and concentrate on how I will respond to what's happened.
When bad things happen to people, some of those people turn bitter and nasty, others live a life feeling disappointed and unforgiving, and others can't push the hurt aside. But this book has reminded me that although the world and its people are not perfect, and although it doesn't always seem like it, there is great beauty and goodness to be found around us. All we have to do is forgive and love."
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