This life-affirming, instructive and thoroughly inspiring book is a must-read for anyone who is -- or who might one day be -- sick. And it can also be the perfect gift of guidance, encouragement, and uplifting inspiration to family, friends, and loved ones struggling with the many terrifying or disheartening life changes that come so close on the heels of a diagnosis of a chronic condition or even life-threatening illness.

The author -- who became ill while a university law professor in the prime of her career -- tells the reader how she got sick and, to her and her partner's bewilderment, stayed that way. Toni had been a longtime meditator, going on long meditation retreats and spending many hours rigorously practicing, but soon discovered that she simply could no longer engage in those difficult and taxing forms. She had to learn ways to make "being sick" the heart of her spiritual practice -- and through truly learning how to be sick, she learned how, even with many physical and energetic limitations, to live a life of equanimity, compassion, and joy. And whether we ourselves are sick now or not, we can learn these vital arts of living well from How to Be Sick.
How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers, Toni Bernhard, Wisdom Publications, Paperback, 139 pp, $15.95

Toni Bernhard fell ill on a trip to Paris in 2001 with what doctors initially diagnosed as an acute viral infection. She has not recovered. In 1982, she'd received a J.D. from the School of Law at the University of California, Davis, and immediately joined the faculty where she stayed until chronic illness forced her to retire. During her twenty-two years on the faculty, she served for six years as Dean of Students.

In 1992, she began to study and practice Buddhism. Before becoming ill, she attended many meditation retreats and led a meditation group in Davis with her husband.

She lives in Davis with her husband, Tony, and their hound dog, Rusty. Toni can be found online at www.howtobesick.com.

	Foreword by Sylvia Boorstein		ix
	Preface		xiii
	How Everything Changed
	1.	Getting Sick: A Romantic Trip to Paris	1
	2.	Staying Sick: This Can't Be Happening to Me	9
	Accepting Pain
	3.	The Buddha Tells It Like It Is	21
	4.	The Universal Law of Impermanence	27
	5.	Who Is Sick?	37
	Finding Joy and Love
	6.	Finding Joy in the Life You Can No Longer Lead	45
	7.	Soothing the Body, Mind, and Heart	51
	8.	Using Compassion to Alleviate Your Suffering	57
	9.	Facing the Ups and Downs of Chronic Illness with Equanimity	73
	Turnarounds and Transformations
	10.	Getting Off the Wheel of Suffering	89
	11.	Tonglen: Spinning Straw into Gold	97
	12.	With Our Thoughts We Make the World	103
	13.	Healing the Mind by Living in the Present Moment	111
	14.	What to Do When (It Seems) You Can't Do Anything	121
	15.	Zen Helps	127
	From Isolation to Solitude
	16.	Communicating with Care	139
	17.	The Struggle to Find Community in Isolation	145
	18.	And in the End...	159
	A Guide to Using the Practices to Help with Specific Challenges		165
	With Gratitude		179
	Bibliography		183
	Index		185
	About the Author		193