Book excerpt: "Kushner distills nine essential lessons from the sum of his teaching, study, and experience, offering a lifetime's worth of spiritual food for thought, pragmatic advice, inspiration for better living, and strength for trying times. With ... insights into everything from belief ('there is no commandment in Judaism to believe in God'), to conscience (the Garden of Eden story as you've never heard it), to mercy ('forgiveness is a favor you do yourself, not a favor to the person who offended you'), grounded in Kushner's ... readings of Scripture, history, and popular culture, [this book] is a capstone addition to Kushner's oeuvre"--