I'M NOT NAUGHTY - I'M AUTISTIC Book

For my book review, I chose to read the book Hidden Spring, A Buddhist Woman Confronts Cancer by Sandy Boucher. When I first chose this book, I didn't know what to expect. Firstly, I've never been gravely sick, much less be diagnosed with cancer so I wouldn't know what her friends and family would be going through. Second, I'm not a a real Buddhist myself so I didn't know what to expect. I was really eager to read this book because it excited me how religion could change someone's life such a dire situation.

This book tells about a woman (Sandy Boucher) who lives in Oakland, who gets diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. The book spans over (about) a year, and tells about how she copes with life through these hard times. She explains the different meditation techniques and buddhist principals that helped her through her illness. She also explains how by having something that could comfort her, she was not too threatened by the news of her illness, or the illness itself. In the book, I really liked her quote, "Buddhist practice does not prevent anything, it does not shield us from anything. It softens and opens us to meet everything that comes to us." The reason I like this quote is because it shows how she's not too scared to face reality. Everything happens for a reason, and by applying Buddhist practices to her daily life, she has come to accept the fact that she has the illness. Not only that, she can still find comfort, strength and calmness through her times of troubles.

In the book, Sandy mentions her journey to find her spiritual self, and it wasn't easy for her. It was hard for her to get her mind around the teachings of Buddha, and it took time. She even spent three years mastering meditation! This book teaches people how to cope with life by turning to religion to calm yourself and it can even help you find strength. Overall, I would give this book a four out of five. I liked it, but some parts was really slow-moving so I found it a bit boring. But nonetheless this book was inspirational and helped me understand Buddhism and it's impact on people.