“Few soul-guides have dared to harness perennial wisdom teachings to help us navigate one of the most excruciating yet common experiences of our lives: the end of an intimate relationship.In this accessible, lyrical, and practical book, LiYana Silver engages her considerable skills of intelligence, insight, tenderness, and even humor to connect us to something luminous at the heart of our heartbreak. She does not suggest that what got you here is good news; rather, she meets you in the darkness and begins to point out the fruits that can only ripen when your soul gives up trying to solve the human predicament.As a translator of the 16th century mystical masterpiece Dark Night of the Soul, I applaud LiYana Silver’s invitation to enter the radiant darkness of divorce and allow it to have its transformative way with you.Love itself is waiting on the other side of this ferocious initiation.”—Mirabai Starr, translator of Dark Night of the Soul and author of Wild Mercy and Ordinary Mysticism“This book is a fiercely compassionate and beautifully written guide to help us turn towards our heartbreak and let it reshape us.As a fellow explorer of dark nights of the soul, I appreciate LiYana for being unafraid to go deep. I found myself (or a friend, colleague, or client) in one or more of the stories—which helps us make sense of our own journeys and find our strength to get through them.Most spiritual, growth-oriented seekers know in theory that we mustn't bypass the most difficult pains and challenges. But LiYana shows us, through practices and real-life examples, how to move from theory into action and do our exacting, demanding, and deeply fruitful inner work.Often, the ordeal is the opportunity for transformation. This book is that map.”—Britta Eskey, author of Initiations in Love“With wisdom, candor, and remarkable emotional precision, LiYana Silver explores one of life's most painful transitions. She neither minimizes the devastation of divorce nor rushes toward redemption. Instead, she illuminates the difficult terrain between an ending and whatever comes next.She manages to provide both validation and hope: you’re not making up how bad this is (it’s bad). You’re not the only one (you’re in good company). And you’re not just being undone, you’re also being remade. This book reframes divorce as not just something you survive, but one of the bravest, most transformative passages of your life.For those of us who don’t know what to do or say to a friend in a dark night of heartbreak, now we can show up with a hot beverage, an offer to talk or not talk, and an ear-marked copy of this book.”—Sarah Ramey, author of The Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness“LiYana doesn't let you skip the hard parts, and somehow, you're grateful for it.This book creates genuine space for the grief, rage, shame, and darkness that most of us are desperate to get around. The cliché says, "the only way out is through," but LiYana takes it further: there is no "out," exactly. There is becoming. And who you become is catalyzed by exactly this kind of loss, if you're willing to stay with it.She writes from experience, not theory, and that difference is everything. She doesn't position herself above the wreckage, pointing down with a clipboard. She's in it with you—steady, soulful, unflinching—walking alongside as you face the self you've outgrown to meet the one ready to begin. Reading this felt like being held and challenged at the same time. Like someone finally gave your darkness a name, a shape, a purpose—and then sat with you in it rather than rushing you toward the light. That is exactly what this kind of transformation requires.What LiYana understands, and teaches with such tenderness and precision, is that authenticity isn't found by avoiding pain; it's forged inside it. This book doesn't promise you a way out of your dark night. It promises you something better: yourself, on the other side.”—Alexandra Beller, author of The Anatomy of Art"Even though divorce is the thread that holds the book together, it's really about being human: losing your footing, finding yourself again.Anyone who's experienced heartbreak, loss, or a dark night of the soul will find something meaningful here. It's soulful, honest, and incredibly generous.LiYana has a grounded, compassionate voice: you feel like she's walking beside you, not telling you what to do. She shares practical tips, thoughtful exercises, and spiritual wisdom that help you move through your own healing.I finished it feeling inspired, seen, and reminded that even our hardest chapters can become the beginning of something beautiful."—Ama, spiritual guide and life coach"When you find yourself in the dark night, LiYana Silver is the one you want by your side. Although you might not be able to see, listen to her voice as she assures you that there is a pathway through, one that she’s mapped, walked, and knows intimately. With zero sugar-coating, she offers fiercely compassionate, step-by-step guidance that will walk you into the light of new life again."—Lisa Schrader, author & founder of Awakening Shakti"This book will hold your hand as you navigate the dark night of divorce. Its sentences jump out with a visceral jolt. The somatic practices at the end of each chapter are especially helpful, allowing you to integrate the fullness and intensity of all you have experienced. I wish it had been written three years ago, when I needed its medicine for myself. LiYana Silver has a unique gift to transmute all that she learns through the most excruciating initiations, so that we may experience guidance and reassurance when we are lost and terrified and find ourselves descending into the dark. Thank you, LiYana, for shining the light, nice and bright, helping us find our way back home!"—Rachael Jayne, author of What the Horses Told Me, retreat facilitator, & soul purpose life coach"What LiYana has written for us is a map through the ‘death’ experiences of crushing heartbreak and betrayal, all our future taken from us: she shows us a way to alchemize the ick and let it initiate us in love.We feel not worthy of love because love left us. We think there's something even worse inside of us than what we've witnessed outside of us. We are terrified of feeling and looking inside. But this book gives us a way to feel, to look, to connect with ourselves. What we find will take our breath away: love itself looking back at us — an unshakable place to stand, a mini oasis in the chaos. If you have the desire to not just survive this devastation but to heal and unwind and expand, to thrive and come alive, more resilient than ever — read on. Read it all. Read it now."—Dr. Saida Désilets, author of Desire and cofounder of the Embodied Love University"When life takes us on a hard path, it’s counter-instinctual to lean into what hurts and scares us, but in my experience that's where we can find the greatest treasures. In Buddhist teaching mythology, the Peacock's beautiful feathers come from digesting poison. I appreciate how LiYana has brought this idea forward and made it both more understandable and more actionable for readers. This book draws from the same core as Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism and kindly yet fiercely points us in the direction of a profound realization: we are strong enough to access our own fortitude and cut through the hardest parts of our crises — and there we unearth our gems of self-esteem, self-kindness, self-understanding, and spiritual growth."—Shadi M, consultant to nonprofit organizations and traveler on the spiritual path"This book came to me exactly when I needed it.What really landed for me was the idea of emotional states such as depression, anxiety and self-doubt as messengers. It's so heartening and empowering to realize that these emotions will shift when we ask the feelings: ‘What are you actually trying to tell me?’LiYana writes with an uplifting tone without ever invalidating the seriousness of our grief and despair. Every word pulses with her wisdom and strength, and you feel as if you've been taken by the hand by a mother-sister-friend: a wise woman who has suffered the dark night of divorce herself. And here she is, on the other end of it, gracious and in one piece, with her capacity for joy intact."—Maya Fowler, author of The Elephant in the Room and Patagonia"LiYana Silver’s book is the essential guide for women brave enough to step into the shadows and reclaim their light.Do not mistake Waking up in the Dark Night of Divorce for a self-help book. It is a powerful alchemical manuscript and LiYana is the way-shower holding the lantern as you navigate the inner work necessary to reclaim, ignite, and remember your radiant soul."—Janell Flores Bolte, soul coach, teacher, and author of Death, A Love Story"This book is nectar for people thirsting for connection to truth right now. The dark night is a recognition we've outgrown something. It is the process by which we ripen and mature into the next phase of our life, work, and identity. It is always a maturing. A tempering. Some would call it a curing.Though I’ve been through many dark nights and know there will be more in the future, I would not give them up. They ushered in self-knowledge and self-trust I wouldn’t have found any other way. LiYana has written us a precise, powerful guide. Please get it, read it, and be cured."—Meghna Majmudar, executive coach and author of The Liberated Leader
