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Toni Bernhard J.D.

About

Until forced to retire due to illness, I was a law professor for 22 years at the University of California—Davis, serving six years as the law school’s dean of students.

Faced with learning to live a new life, I wrote How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers. The book is Buddhist-inspired but is non-parochial. How to Be Sick won two 2011 Nautilus Book Awards: A Gold Medal in Self-Help/Psychology and a Silver Medal in Memoir. It was also named one of the best books of 2010 by Spirituality and Practice.

A revised and expanded edition of How to Be Sick was released in 2018. Every chapter was rewritten or edited, and the book contains over a dozen new practices.

In May 2020, How to Be Sick will be available as a pocket guide. It's intended both for those who've read How to Be Sick and for those who haven't. The pocket guide is a stand-alone book on its own.

In 2013, my second book was published: How to Wake Up: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide to Navigating Joy and Sorrow. It offers my understanding of the Buddha’s path to peace—a peace and well-being that aren't dependent on whether a particular experience is pleasant or unpleasant, joyful or sorrowful. How to Wake Up has drawn critical acclaim from Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.

In 2015, my third book was published: How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness: A Mindful Guide. It covers a broad range of topics, from career crises and relationship issues to struggles with self-blame, personal identity, and isolation. In addition, several chapters are addressed to family and friends of the chronically ill to help them understand what their loved one is going through and to offer ideas on how they can help.

I write in a conversational style, with the intention of helping everyone, regardless of circumstances, learn to live with compassion, joy, and purpose. To this end, all of my books and many of my posts at Psychology Today include easy-to-learn exercises and practices that are brought alive through the use of personal stories. All of my books are available in audio format from Amazon, audible.com, and iTunes.

I live in Davis, California with my husband, also named Tony, and our goofy lab named Scout. I can be found online at www.tonibernhard.com

Books by Toni Bernhard J.D.
Recent Posts
How to Cope with Holiday Blues When Your Health Is Poor

Personal Perspective: Those with chronic pain and illness want to participate in seasonal celebrations, but their ability to do so is limited and this can be emotionally painful.

Personal Perspective: Those with chronic pain and illness want to participate in seasonal celebrations, but their ability to do so is limited and this can be emotionally painful.

4 Things People With Chronic Illness Wish Everyone Else Understood

A Personal Perspective: It’s hard to respond skillfully to the emotional pain of feeling misunderstood, yet it’s a challenge the chronically ill face at almost every turn.

A Personal Perspective: It’s hard to respond skillfully to the emotional pain of feeling misunderstood, yet it’s a challenge the chronically ill face at almost every turn.

4 Ways to Treat Yourself With More Compassion

Compassion simply means being kind to yourself and others. To direct it at yourself, think of how you’d treat a loved one in need, and treat yourself that way.

Compassion simply means being kind to yourself and others. To direct it at yourself, think of how you’d treat a loved one in need, and treat yourself that way.

5 Misconceptions About Mindfulness

A Personal Perspective: Watch out for these misunderstandings about mindfulness.

A Personal Perspective: Watch out for these misunderstandings about mindfulness.

A Guide to Skillful Action for the Chronically Ill

When considering what is skillful action and skillful inaction, pursue actions that ease emotional and physical pain and avoid actions that intensify them.

When considering what is skillful action and skillful inaction, pursue actions that ease emotional and physical pain and avoid actions that intensify them.

20 Tips From 21 Years Sick

A Personal Perspective: In the 21 years since I got sick, much has changed in my life. The one constant, however, has been chronic illness, which includes chronic pain.

A Personal Perspective: In the 21 years since I got sick, much has changed in my life. The one constant, however, has been chronic illness, which includes chronic pain.

21 Tips from 21 Years Sick

A Personal Perspective: In the 21 years since I got sick, much has changed in my life. The one constant, however, has been chronic illness, which includes chronic pain.

A Personal Perspective: In the 21 years since I got sick, much has changed in my life. The one constant, however, has been chronic illness, which includes chronic pain.

How to Move From Resignation to Acceptance

Had I been stuck in resignation, from that dark place, I wouldn’t have seen a way forward.

Had I been stuck in resignation, from that dark place, I wouldn’t have seen a way forward.

How Chronic Pain Makes Life’s Everyday Tasks a Challenge

A Personal Perspective: Chronic pain, in effect, disables people from comfortably performing mundane, everyday tasks that others take for granted.

A Personal Perspective: Chronic pain, in effect, disables people from comfortably performing mundane, everyday tasks that others take for granted.