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More Beautiful Than Before: How Suffering Transforms Us

4.68/5 - 696 Ratings

Author: Steve Leder

Publication Date: Nov 7, 2017

Formats: PDF,Hardcover,Kindle,Audible Audiobook,MP3 CD

Rating: 4.68/5 out of 696

Publisher: Hay House Inc.

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More Beautiful Than Before: How Suffering Transforms Us Info

Check out books about Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and get your questions answered fast. Take a look at hundreds of reviews and ratings for each book related to Religion & Spirituality. Want to see what people say about Steve Leder and find the best shops to download More Beautiful Than Before: How Suffering Transforms Us? This is the right place to be. Read&Download More Beautiful Than Before: How Suffering Transforms Us by Steve Leder Online


Every one of us sooner or later walks through hell. The hell of
being hurt, the hell of hurting another. The hell of cancer, the hell of
a reluctant, thunking shovel full of earth upon the casket of someone
we deeply loved, the hell of betrayal, the hell of betraying, the hell
of divorce, the hell of a kid in trouble . . . the hell of knowing that
this year, like any year, may be our last. We all walk through hell. The
point is not to come out empty-handed. . . . There is real and profound
power in the suffering we endure if we transform that suffering into a
more authentic, meaningful life. In the spirit of such classics as When
Bad Things Happen to Good People, A Grief Observed, and When Things Fall
Apart, More Beautiful Than Before: How Suffering Transforms Us examines
the many ways we can transform physical, psychological, or emotional
pain into a more beautiful and meaningful life. As the leader of
Wilshire Boulevard Temple, one of America’s largest and most
important congregations, located in the heart of Los Angeles, Rabbi
Leder has witnessed a lot of pain: "It’s my phone that rings when
people’s bodies or lives fall apart," he writes. "The couch in my
office is often drenched with tears." After 27 years of listening,
comforting, and holding so many who suffered, he thought he understood
pain and its challenges—but when it struck hard in his own life
and brought him to his knees, a new understanding unfolded before him as
he felt pain’s profound effects on his body, spirit, and soul. In
this elegantly concise, beautifully written, and deeply inspiring book,
Rabbi Leder guides us through pain’s stages of surviving,
healing, and growing to help us all find meaning in our suffering.
Drawing on his experience as a spiritual leader, the wisdom of ancient
traditions, modern science, and stories from his own life and
others’, he shows us that when we must endure, we can, and that
there is a path for each of us that leads from pain to wisdom. "Pain
cracks us open," he writes. "It breaks us. But in the breaking, there is
a new kind of wholeness." This powerful book will inspire in us all a
life worthy of our suffering; a life gentler, wiser, and more beautiful
than before.

Average Ratings and Reviews
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Reviews for More Beautiful Than Before: How Suffering Transforms Us:

3

Dec 16, 2017

The title caught me off guard so I wanted to read it.

Written by a Rabbi the book is a perspective into how pain, grief and suffering change us.

I came away from the book thinking that the quiet moments at the hospital where I hold hands and dry tears are quite powerful and priceless.
4

Jun 30, 2019

Lots to think about in this meditation on grief, loss and suffering. One of the better takes on this subject I’ve read. The author has concrete advice on how to help others who are going through difficulties, and emphasizes the value of true community.
5

Aug 19, 2018

It’s hard to “rate” a book which consists largely of stories of emotional pain suffered by the author, by his congregants, and by others. By everyone, really, which is a main point — there is no life without suffering. What we make of our suffering is the second focus of this little book. But explaining a reason for pain is not offered, thankfully; rather How to survive it in the best way possible for others. Leder’s volume reminds me of Einstein’s answer to the question, why are we here? It’s hard to “rate” a book which consists largely of stories of emotional pain suffered by the author, by his congregants, and by others. By everyone, really, which is a main point — there is no life without suffering. What we make of our suffering is the second focus of this little book. But explaining a reason for pain is not offered, thankfully; rather How to survive it in the best way possible for others. Leder’s volume reminds me of Einstein’s answer to the question, why are we here? Roughly— “we are here for the sake of each other, for those upon whose smile and well-being our happiness depends.” We can use our own suffering to live lives more beneficial to others, to be a blessing to them.
I can’t say I “enjoyed” Rabbi Leder’s book, but I am glad to have read it, and recommend it for individual reading and pondering, and for group reading and discussion also. ...more
1

Jun 27, 2019

Maybe my trauma is such that I have been blinded to the "wisdom" of its infliction. If one more person tries to convince me that there is a positive message to be gained from years of abuse, I'm going start screaming. "When you must, you can"? Such drivel. I survived my childhood, because death doesn't come because you call out to it in the whole of your 5 year old heart. I survived because I didn't know how to end my own life! A glass dropped from 6 stories up, well never be the same glass. It Maybe my trauma is such that I have been blinded to the "wisdom" of its infliction. If one more person tries to convince me that there is a positive message to be gained from years of abuse, I'm going start screaming. "When you must, you can"? Such drivel. I survived my childhood, because death doesn't come because you call out to it in the whole of your 5 year old heart. I survived because I didn't know how to end my own life! A glass dropped from 6 stories up, well never be the same glass. It will never be something unbroken. You cannot erase the fall. The shattering. There are pieces unrecoverable. Just another book of gentle victim blaming if one did not have the fortune of surviving and becoming "more beautiful". This book was not for me. "Do not let your suffering be in vain." One again, I'm apologizing, to a book, for not being strong enough. For having unfixable trauma. I am once again left with the awful taste in my mouth that anyone could believe and keep faith in a Higher Power with a plan. My trauma, any child's trauma, should never be an acceptable part of any plan. That's just shitty planning. ...more
3

May 05, 2018

Very easy simple read, yet with profound statements backed up with obvious empathy and years of being witness and holding space to other people's pain. Suffering is universal, and here is a book that can apply to anyone and everyone at some point or another in their lives when they are trying to make sense of that suffering. Victor Frankl said suffering ceases to be suffering when we find a meaning to it or something rather, and that's exactly what this book strives to do. Show us how our Very easy simple read, yet with profound statements backed up with obvious empathy and years of being witness and holding space to other people's pain. Suffering is universal, and here is a book that can apply to anyone and everyone at some point or another in their lives when they are trying to make sense of that suffering. Victor Frankl said suffering ceases to be suffering when we find a meaning to it or something rather, and that's exactly what this book strives to do. Show us how our suffering is the way to something within us that cannot be broken, the ever-resilient human spirit. Least that's what I got from it. Read it in like a few hours, short and to the point, easily laid out in different stages of navigating the pain process of ....LIFE? ...more
5

Nov 26, 2017

Can pain be the stimulus for self inspection, reorienting one's priorities, figuring out what is important, caring for the ones we love, and putting our emphasis on now, and not something else? If you are ready to hear this message than this book will be for you. With much emphathy and many stories, old and new, Steve Leder, grabs your innards and does not let go until you get the message: we all have pain at some time, we need to face it, embrace it, understand and have compassion for those who Can pain be the stimulus for self inspection, reorienting one's priorities, figuring out what is important, caring for the ones we love, and putting our emphasis on now, and not something else? If you are ready to hear this message than this book will be for you. With much emphathy and many stories, old and new, Steve Leder, grabs your innards and does not let go until you get the message: we all have pain at some time, we need to face it, embrace it, understand and have compassion for those who also share it, which is everyone. ...more
5

Nov 13, 2017

Beautiful

Great insight and love the way it is explained. We can learn from these words as we all hurt at one time or another.
5

July 15, 2018

This book gives one insight to pain and allow you to see that it is normal to hurt and grieve and to use the pain so you do not leave hell empty handed.
5

Jul 08, 2018

Pain. Why?

This is uplifting, enlightening and encouraging. This will and should open your eyes to the possibilities and meaning of your life.
3

Jan 05, 2019

One of those books that you learn something new from each time you read it.
3

Jan 30, 2018

"To love and care for someone who is whole is one thing. To love and care for a person when he or she is broken, weak, and afraid is quite another. That is the deepest kind of love; a love discovered only through vulnerability and pain."
2

Sep 10, 2019

I tried to get further into this book but the ideas surrounding suffering were too... generically sappy to me. It read as if Hallmark tried to make a book about suffering. Maybe I will try again... Maybe not.
4

Sep 21, 2018

I read this quickly. The short, anecdotal chapters make it a fairly easy read. Some chapter lagged but some were immensely compelling. In particular, I was moved by the chapter in prayer. Great book — quite inspirational.
3

Sep 02, 2019

Good read if you are trying to seek positivity while going through something painful. A little redundant and slow in between, gets a bit preachy as well but some lessons are definitely going to enlighten your mind.
5

Jan 25, 2019

I love this Rabbi(author) he was the Rabbi on site at one of the best Jewish camps in the world. He was kind, fair, and made our camp a better place. I have not seen him in over 25 years but reading this book reminded me of all the things I loved about him. Beautifully written and meaningful. Highly recommend!
4

Aug 12, 2018

Going through a loss, a grieving of any sort, hits hard. This book is about falling down on your knees, coming to terms with the unfairness of this existence, and rather than despairing, allowing this knowledge to forge a stronger you for tomorrow.

A book that takes its time, doesn’t push religion yet references religion, and openly owns the fallibility of its author... and you.
5

Sep 09, 2019

Loved this book! I lost my son in January of 2019 and have grabbed every book I can read to try and make sense of this. So far this year I’ve read 29 books. While nothing makes sense when we lose a child, Leder’s book helped me to put this chaos and trauma into perspective. As a man of faith, whose faith has been challenged, this book really helped.
5

Aug 22, 2019

This book isn’t for everyone, but it is for me. Just a beautiful, thoughtful treaties on the benefits that can come from suffering. My attitude has been, if I must suffer ( and suffering comes to all eventually) then I want to grow and learn something from it. I read this book on Kindle, but I’m going to buy a hard copy to add to my library.
5

Jan 24, 2018

On point

I have known loss and this book brings home all of the points of losing someone. It also knows what human pain is and talks about it frankly. If you've never suffered loss in your lifetime, this book will prepare you. It's told from a very empathetic, yet personal point of view. Than you.
Well done.
5

Jun 02, 2019

A grownups' follow-up to "Wonder".

"We are at our best when we are both exalted and brought low. So doubt yourself. Doubt that your side of the story is the only side," the author says.

There is so much to learn from Rabbi Leder: about others, about pain, about ourselves. I don't even think you need to be going through something painful to relate to each chapter. He's teaching how to be a better human. Can't everyone benefit from that?
5

Dec 30, 2019

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

My husband of 26 years is dying a little every day of Alzheimer's disease. When we met I was a bit 'hard boiled' because of what life had done to me, or I should say allowed let happen to me. Through his beautiful ways my outer shell disintegrated and became what I am today. This book has taught me that you too can become beautiful through pain. I feel, that by reading these words made me look inside myself to bring out the true me. Never have I felt this Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

My husband of 26 years is dying a little every day of Alzheimer's disease. When we met I was a bit 'hard boiled' because of what life had done to me, or I should say allowed let happen to me. Through his beautiful ways my outer shell disintegrated and became what I am today. This book has taught me that you too can become beautiful through pain. I feel, that by reading these words made me look inside myself to bring out the true me. Never have I felt this before. ...more
5

Nov 03, 2019

A friend recommended this book. I'm always glad when I have a good book to read. Although our trials differ- we were both helped by reading this book. I was amazed that the author, a rabbi, could understand other's loss, and pain when he had not experienced that kind of trauma himself. He had a serious pain- body suffering - which to me is different. I think it must take a special person to be able to empathize with others who are in a different kind of pain. Suffering can transform us for good A friend recommended this book. I'm always glad when I have a good book to read. Although our trials differ- we were both helped by reading this book. I was amazed that the author, a rabbi, could understand other's loss, and pain when he had not experienced that kind of trauma himself. He had a serious pain- body suffering - which to me is different. I think it must take a special person to be able to empathize with others who are in a different kind of pain. Suffering can transform us for good or bad. ...more
2

Jan 25, 2019

Very boring and disappointing.

I thought I would buy two more books. One for my daughter in law who lost her son in an automobile accident. The other to my sister in law and brother, who just lost their son in an accident where he was a pedestrian and was hit by a car and died before they could get to the hospital.
I tried to read the book first to see if it might help them through their grief. But it was so boring, I don't believe they could have read it and I don't believe it would help them Very boring and disappointing.

I thought I would buy two more books. One for my daughter in law who lost her son in an automobile accident. The other to my sister in law and brother, who just lost their son in an accident where he was a pedestrian and was hit by a car and died before they could get to the hospital.
I tried to read the book first to see if it might help them through their grief. But it was so boring, I don't believe they could have read it and I don't believe it would help them get through they grief. Sorry for the bad rating but this is why I read it first. Maybe
Useless to a grieving parent. ...more
5

May 14, 2019

As a the leader of a large temple in Los Angeles, Rabbi Leder has comforted hundreds of people in their darkest times. He is familiar with how loss can transform lives, and spur new growth in people. When Leder faced his own dark challenges, he became intimately familiar with how people respond to disaster, and offers advice on how to help grieving friends and family. This is a wonderful, optimistic book about love, loss and finding purpose after the fact. "Pain cracks us open," he writes. "It As a the leader of a large temple in Los Angeles, Rabbi Leder has comforted hundreds of people in their darkest times. He is familiar with how loss can transform lives, and spur new growth in people. When Leder faced his own dark challenges, he became intimately familiar with how people respond to disaster, and offers advice on how to help grieving friends and family. This is a wonderful, optimistic book about love, loss and finding purpose after the fact. "Pain cracks us open," he writes. "It breaks us. But in the breaking, there is a new kind of wholeness." He offers religious parables from Judasim, as well as other major religions, and encourages us to remember that grief affects anyone, regardless of faith, and empathy is a wonderful gift. Highly recommend. ...more
4

Jan 26, 2020

I picked this book up as part of the research I was doing on a writing project I am working on, but didn't start reading it until a few weeks later after my family learned that my father would not be returning home from the hospital.

Leder offers words of comfort and perspective that help readers of all spiritual backgrounds (or agnostics like me) step back from suffering and find ways to let those experiences shape us into kinder, more compassionate, people. This is not your usual, "God has a I picked this book up as part of the research I was doing on a writing project I am working on, but didn't start reading it until a few weeks later after my family learned that my father would not be returning home from the hospital.

Leder offers words of comfort and perspective that help readers of all spiritual backgrounds (or agnostics like me) step back from suffering and find ways to let those experiences shape us into kinder, more compassionate, people. This is not your usual, "God has a reason for everything..." or "God allows us to suffer so we become stronger," blah blah blah. Leder acknowledges that suffering sucks, but it is our response to that suffering that can transform us. ...more

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