Summary, Analysis, and Review of Pema Chodron’s When Things Fall Apart PLEASE NOTE: This is a key takeaways and analysis of the book and NOT the original book. Start Publishing Notes’ Summary, Analysis, and Review of Pema Chodron’s When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times includes a summary of the book, review, analysis & key takeaways, and detailed About the Author section. PREVIEW: After a year-long sabbatical in 1995, Pema Chodron, an American Buddhist nun, realized that the way to overcome fear, pain, loss, and anxiety is to confront those negative emotions in order to transform one’s suffering and negative patterns in life in order to obtain a life of joy rather than one of hardship. In When Things Fall Apart Chodron sees two overarching themes: a need for maitri (loving-kindness towards oneself) and how practicing maitri develops a more compassionate attitude towards our own and others’ struggles; and a dissolving of dualistic tensions (us and them) by inviting in what we usually