An Accessible, Digestible Manifesto About Kindness

I would (and have) confidently recommend this book to friends and colleagues. Far from being "too Eastern" in philosophy or "too Western," far from "too religious" or "too secular," Karen Armstrong really acutely and sensitively touches on the issues of religion, faith, and being a good person — and how the three are not always mutually exclusive, but aren't necessarily natural bedfellows either. I really appreciated her slow narration of the book so I could follow along while working without missing too much on the first run through and it's a digestible length, so you can definitely finish this in a couple of days max. Good luck! Hope you like it as much as I did.

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Author's reading adds to book

If you could sum up Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life in three words, what would they be?

read again and again

What was one of the most memorable moments of Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life?

The story of the Head Nun who showed Karen compassion--What one small thing can do to bolster up another person.

What about Karen Armstrong’s performance did you like?

This is a very well-written book. I am reading it as part of a book club over the duration of a year. I have the print and the audible--Having the author read the text makes it really come alive in a way that the print does not.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no.

Any additional comments?

This is a very excellent book--it is not for the casual reader. If you follow the instructions of the book, you will have your work cut out for you for a long time. I loved the way each step builds upon the next in a the way traditional 12-step programs do. Don't be turned off by the 12-step approach, as my husband was. Give yourself time to work through the steps--invite a friend or several to work through the book with you.

7 people found this helpful

Interesting

I liked the book overall. It sends a good message.
However I find the book slightly preachy and naive. To me the author had a somewhat superficial understanding of different religions and philosophies mentioned the book, which obviously is understandable--even if she is an expert, it's hard to get into anything in depth in such a short book, but I find I'm craving that deeper understanding of the stories and backgrounds of the prophets and sages mentioned.

2 people found this helpful

it was great hearing Karen's voice throughout

loved it. My favorite author. great insight, uplifting message, encompasses all of her previous book's

1 person found this helpful

Great book

This was a great book. It made me realize how important it is to treat others with compassion, increased my understanding of other religions and made me a better person.

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Good History of Compassion BUT 12 Steps?

If you are looking for an historical overview of teachings on compassion in the major religious and philosophical traditions this book is a fine choice.

Karen Armstrong is perhaps the best religious historian writing today for a non-academic audience. Her short biography of Buddha is excellent.

She has also written other histories and biographies covering religious traditions and their leaders.

This book seems something of a departure. Here she is not only writing about teachings on compassion in religious traditions, she is also offering a 12-step program for readers seeking to enhance their own compassion.

On the historical side, Armstrong offers interesting insights into how most religious traditions developed a version of the Golden Rule. This includes a humorous story about Hillel, the Jewish sage who was a contemporary of Jesus.

Armstrong tells us: "It is said that a pagan approached Hillel and promised to convert to Judaism if he could recite the entire Torah while he stood on one leg. Hillel replied: "What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole of the Torah and the remainder is but commentary."

To an extent this is also true of Armstrong's book which might be seen as an extended commentary on the history and value of practicing the Golden Rule.

However, her attempt to come up with a prescriptive 12 steps for practicing the Golden Rule seems an over-reach.

It lacks a key message that Bill Wilson put in the original 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. After noting that none of the AA members were perfect practitioners of the steps, Bill noted: "We are not saints."

Too much of Armstrong's 12 step program appears aimed at turning readers into "sages," her term for saints. I am skeptical about how many flawed human beings will be able to follow Armstrong's steps to become more compassionate. Living the Golden Rule in daily life is a goal so lofty that it may be a case where the seeker is more likely to find frustration rather than fulfillment.

Also, this book appears to have been written prior to the Great Recession and speaks to lifestyles that only a few lucky people now live post-2008. (This is a problem with a number of popular spiritual books that predate the crash.) People struggling to get by in the post 2008 economic reality in the U.S. may find Armstrong's 12 steps a little out of touch with the survival mode many workers find themselves in today.

In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a glamorization of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. People outside AA might confuse them with popular self-help formulas offered on cable TV.

Bill Wilson's 12 Step program, developed for hopeless drunks in the midst of the Great Depression, was never intended to be a diversion for affluent Yuppies seeking to up their spiritual game. Working the 12-Steps of AA is a tough way to recover from a life-threatening disease.

To expect an average reader to follow 12 Steps to a Compassionate Life may be a misunderstanding of the pure desperation required to work the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

My bottom line would be that this book is good as history but the program it offers is unlikely to work for people struggling to hold a job and feed themselves and perhaps a family in post-2008 America.

7 people found this helpful

To Be A Refuge

Many of us want to leave the world even marginally better than we inherited it. If this is you, this book needs to be a part of your arsenal. This book is a wholesome, all encompassing approach to compassion.

Great book

Karen Armstrong was inspirational and articulated practical personal interventions that can implement a better world.

Thought Provoking

I found this book to be thought provoking and one that will require a second-third-fourth...listen as self-work on being compassionate is never complete. The author narrates and I enjoyed listening.

Good book

Easy to follow narration. Insightful. Similar to the TED talk given by Karen Armstrong. Must-read.