Soul Nutrition

I am honoured to be one of the contributing authors for ‘Tears Become Rain’. My story is the account of the moments when I was first diagnosed with cancer, and how mindfulness instinctively helped me to manage my strong emotional responses and turn the experience into something unexpected.

10th October 2023 is the publication day for ‘Tears Become Rain’ and you have two opportunities to join free online events featuring the editors and a range of contributing authors from 16 countries. Each event will last for approximately 1 hour and has just 300 spaces available, so pre-booking is highly recommended.

The format will be a facilitated discussion with the Editors (Jeanine and Mary) for the first half hour and then you will have the opportunity to go into one of 7 breakout rooms corresponding to the 7 different themes of the book.  You can find me in breakout room 5, which is the theme of ‘Facing Fear’ (and the Editors will remind us where everyone is during the event so there is no need to memorise this!)

The complete list of themes is:

1. The Power of Community and Belonging
2. Interbeing: We Are One
3. Coming Home to Ourselves
4. Reconciliation: Coming Back to Each Other
5. Facing Fear
6. Loss and Grief
7. Being Here Now: The Wonders of the Present Moment

In each breakout room there will be a few contributing authors, each of whom will have about 5 minutes to read from their story (you can hear my complete story in that time as it is very short!).  If there is time left after the readings (which we aim for there to be), people can ask questions and enjoy a conversation if they wish to.  

There are 2 sessions to choose from and I will be attending both of them:

Tears Become Rain is already available to pre-order from all good booksellers:

• Amazon.co.uk
• Amazon.com – plus other US booksellers, listed on the Penguin Random House website
• Your local independent bookshop, for example Simply Books in Bramhall, Cheshire

If you would like to join me at an in-person book launch event at Amaranth Health and Wellbeing in Bramhall, Cheshire, 7:30pm – 9pm on Weds 27th September, please click here for more information

Tears Become Rain: the back story

The book began life back in July 2019 with a global invitation to mindfulness practitioners from the editors, asking us to submit first-person short stories of how we were touched, moved, and inspired by the mindfulness teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh, and of course hundreds of us responded. Below is the result of the tireless work of Jeanine and Mary in bringing some of those stories together into one book, to represent themes experienced by the whole community. I am deeply grateful for their decision to include me, to represent in some small way everyone who has experienced similar moments of life-changing significance.

All proceeds from the book sales will be donated to the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation, to enable his teachings to continue beautifully into the future.

About ‘Tears Become Rain’

32 mindfulness practitioners around the world reflect on encountering the extraordinary teachings of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, who passed away in January 2022, exploring themes of coming home to ourselves, healing from grief and loss, facing fear, and building community and belonging.

Some moments change our lives. We experience wonder and relief when we realize we can be okay, just as we are. How do we then integrate these transformative moments into our daily life? ‘Tears Become Rain‘ is a collection of such stories, with one common inspiration: the teachings of mindfulness and compassion offered by the most influential meditation teacher of the past century, the Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King.

The stories encapsulate the benefits of mindfulness practice through the experiences of ordinary people from 16 countries around the world. Some of the contributors were direct students of Thich Nhat Hanh for decades and are meditation teachers in their own right, while others are relatively new on the path.

After her mother’s death, Canadian author Vickie MacArthur writes poignantly of discovering a source of peace within herself at Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village monastery in France. Jamaican American English professor Camille Goodison uncovers the racism of academia and finds freedom from her toxic workplace by practicing the teachings of love and liberation as taught to her by Thich Nhat Hanh. Vietnamese doctor Huy Minh Tran shares how mindfulness helped him transform his traumatic past as a refugee so that he no longer suffers from nightmares. Norwegian Eevi Beck meditates on the teacher-student relationship and how Thich Nhat Hanh supported her marriage and then loss of her husband.

For many, battling sickness, old age, and death—the death of loved ones and one’s own—brings up overwhelming emotions of grief, anger, and despair but with the wisdom of Zen practice, Tears Become Rain shows again and again how people are able to find refuge from the storm in their lives and open their hearts to joy. Through sharing their stories, ‘Tears Become Rain’ is both a celebration of Thich Nhat Hanh and a testament to his lasting impact on the lives of people from many walks of life.

Tears Become Rain will be published by Parallax Press on 10th October 2023, and distributed by Penguin Random House

Available to pre-order now from all good booksellers.

• Amazon.co.uk
• Amazon.com – plus other US booksellers, listed on the Penguin Random House website
• Your local independent bookshop, for example Simply Books in Bramhall, Cheshire