Brach is an Engaged Buddhist, specializing in the application of Buddhist teachings and mindfulness meditation to emotional healing.[4] She has authored several books on these subjects, including Radical Acceptance, True Refuge, and Radical Compassion.
She attended Clark University, earning bachelor's degrees in psychology and political science.[3] After graduation, she joined 3HO, an organization characterizing itself as practicing Sikh Dharma, and moved into an ashram outside Boston. 3HO's leader, Yogi Bhajan, arranged her first marriage with a man she barely knew. She left the ashram after two years with her husband and gave birth to a son. The couple divorced five years later.[5]
Brach became a Buddhist lay priest in 1988. She taught meditation classes[5] and was awarded a doctorate in clinical psychology from the Fielding Institute, based on her dissertation analyzing the effectiveness of meditation in the healing of eating disorders. She then began a psychotherapy practice.[8]
In 1995, Brach, who had already been teaching meditation for over 15 years, began a Vipassana meditation group in Bethesda. By 2002, 200 people were attending the sessions.[9] In 1998, she founded the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C.[1]
In her first book, Radical Acceptance (2003), Brach shares how Buddhist practices helped her overcome self-hatred, addiction, and chronic illness, leading her to a place of inner peace and freedom.[10] In 2010, she launched her eponymous podcast,[11] which by 2021 was being downloaded by 2.5 million people each month.[5] Her second book, True Refuge, debuted on The Washington Post best-seller list the week it was released, in February 2013.[6]
As of 2024, Brach had trained over 7,000 people to be meditation teachers.[12] Her own meditation teachers included Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield.[13]
Brach, Tara (2012). "Mindful Presence: A Foundation for Compassion and Wisdom", in Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy: Deepening Mindfulness in Clinical Practice edited by Christopher K. Germer and Ronald D. Siegel. Guilford PressISBN978-1462518869
Brach, Tara (2014). "Healing Traumatic Fear: The Wings of Mindfulness and Love", in Mindfulness-Oriented Interventions for Trauma: Integrating Contemplative Practices edited by Follette, Briere, Rozelle, Hopper and Rome. Guilford PressISBN978-1462518586
Brach, Tara (2019). Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of RAIN. Viking. ISBN978-0525522812.
Brach, Tara (2021). Trusting the Gold: Uncovering Your Natural Goodness. Sounds True. ISBN978-1-68364-713-3.
Audio publications
Radical Self-Acceptance: A Buddhist Guide to Freeing Yourself from Shame (2005) ISBN978-1591793212
↑ Riess, Jana (May 12, 2003). "Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha". Publishers Weekly. 250 (19): 63. ProQuest197079296.
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