This stunning meditation from the renowned author of The Book of Awakening offers a fresh perspective on the art of being alive and provides essential insight into how we can overcome the barriers holding us back from living life to its fullest. “Once again, Mark Nepo draws us to the heart of what matters. He illuminates love with the light of his own understanding.”—Marianne Williamson How can we stay awake and authentic when our wounds make us numb and hidden? How can we minimize what stands between us and our experience of life? How can we make a practice of wearing down what thickens around our mind and heart? In these fast-paced times, the exquisite risk facing each of us every day is to slow down so that we may experience life rather than simply manage it. In The Exquisite Risk, poet and teacher Mark Nepo encourages us to become quiet enough and open enough to listen to what truly matters—our own hearts, our loved ones, the wonders of nature—in order to live a life with nothing held back. In moving, thoughtful prose, Nepo bravely demonstrates the vulnerability he urges us all to practice, sharing the development of his own spiritual path and how his battle with a rare type of cancer transformed his perspective on himself, his connections to others, and the world around him. Along with personal anecdotes, Nepo pulls wisdom from ancient teachings to explore the importance of staying present and mindful in the face of life’s myriad challenges and concludes that only by daring to embrace all that life has to offer—good and bad—can we come to a deeper appreciation of its meaning and beauty.