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The War Complex: World War II in Our Time
by Marianna TorgovnickThe recent dedication of the World War II memorial and the sixtieth anniversary commemoration of D-Day remind us of the hold that World War II still has over America's sense of itself. But the selective process of memory has radically shaped our picture of the conflict. Why else, for instance, was a 1995 Smithsonian exhibition on Hiroshima that was to include photographs of the first atomic bomb victims, along with their testimonials, considered so controversial? And why do we so readily remember the civilian bombings of Britain but not those of Dresden, Hamburg, and Tokyo? Marianna Torgovnick argues that we have lived, since the end of World War II, under the power of a war complex--a set of repressed ideas and impulses that stems from our unresolved attitudes toward the technological acceleration of mass death. This complex has led to gaps and hesitations in public discourse about atrocities committed during the war itself. And it remains an enduring wartime consciousness, one most recently animated on September 11, 2001. Showing how different events from World War II became prominent in American cultural memory while others go forgotten or remain hidden in plain sight, "The War Complex" moves deftly from war films and historical works to television specials and popular magazines to define the image and influence of World War II in our time. Torgovnick also explores the 1961 trial of Adolf Eichmann, the emotional legacy of the Holocaust, and the treatment of World War II's missing history by writers such as W. G. Sebald to reveal the unease we feel at our dependence on those who hold the power of total war. Thinking anew, then, about how we account for war to each other andourselves, Torgovnick ultimately, and movingly, shows how these anxieties and fears have prepared us to think about 9/11 and our current war in Iraq.
The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World
by Jamil Zaki'In this masterpiece, Jamil Zaki weaves together the very latest science with stories that will stay in your heart forever' - Angela Duckworth, author of Grit 'Scientific, gripping, groundbreaking and hopeful. The War for Kindness is the message for our times' - Carol Dweck, author of Mindset Empathy has been on people's mind a lot lately. Philosophers, evolutionary scientists and indeed former President Obama agree that an increase in empathy could advance us beyond the hatred, violence and polarization in which the world seems caught. Others disagree, arguing it is easiest to empathize with people who look, talk or think like us. As a result, empathy can inspire nepotism, racism and worse. Having studied the neuroscience and psychology of empathy for over a decade, Jamil Zaki thinks both sides of this debate have a point. Empathy is sometimes an engine for moral progress, and other times for moral failure. But Zaki also thinks that both sides are wrong about how empathy works. Both scientists and non-scientists commonly argue that empathy is something that happens to you, sort of like an emotional knee-jerk reflex. Second, they believe it happens more to some people than others. This lines people up along a spectrum, with deep empaths on one end and psychopaths on the other. What's more, wherever we are on that spectrum, we're stuck there. In The War for Kindness, Zaki lays out a very different view of how empathy works, one that breaks these two assumptions. Empathy is not a reflex; it's a choice. We choose empathy (or apathy) constantly: when we read a tragic novel, or cross the street to avoid a homeless person, or ask a distraught friend what's the matter. This view has crucial consequences: if empathy is less a trait (like height), and more a skill (like being good at word games), then we can improve at it. By choosing it more often, we can flex our capabilities and grow more empathic over time. We can also "tune" empathy, ramping it up in situations where it will help and turning it down when it might backfire. Zaki takes us from the world of doctors who train medical students to empathise better to social workers who help each other survive empathising too much. From police trainers who help cadets avoid becoming violent cops to political advocates who ask white Americans to literally walk a (dusty) mile in Mexican immigrants' shoes. This book will give you a deepened understanding of how empathy works, how to control it and how to become the type of empathiser you want to be.
The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World
by Jamil Zaki'In this masterpiece, Jamil Zaki weaves together the very latest science with stories that will stay in your heart forever' - Angela Duckworth, author of Grit'Scientific, gripping, groundbreaking and hopeful. The War for Kindness is the message for our times' - Carol Dweck, author of MindsetEmpathy has been on people's mind a lot lately. Philosophers, evolutionary scientists and indeed former President Obama agree that an increase in empathy could advance us beyond the hatred, violence and polarization in which the world seems caught. Others disagree, arguing it is easiest to empathize with people who look, talk or think like us. As a result, empathy can inspire nepotism, racism and worse. Having studied the neuroscience and psychology of empathy for over a decade, Jamil Zaki thinks both sides of this debate have a point. Empathy is sometimes an engine for moral progress, and other times for moral failure. But Zaki also thinks that both sides are wrong about how empathy works. Both scientists and non-scientists commonly argue that empathy is something that happens to you, sort of like an emotional knee-jerk reflex. Second, they believe it happens more to some people than others. This lines people up along a spectrum, with deep empaths on one end and psychopaths on the other. What's more, wherever we are on that spectrum, we're stuck there. In The War for Kindness, Zaki lays out a very different view of how empathy works, one that breaks these two assumptions. Empathy is not a reflex; it's a choice. We choose empathy (or apathy) constantly: when we read a tragic novel, or cross the street to avoid a homeless person, or ask a distraught friend what's the matter. This view has crucial consequences: if empathy is less a trait (like height), and more a skill (like being good at word games), then we can improve at it. By choosing it more often, we can flex our capabilities and grow more empathic over time. We can also "tune" empathy, ramping it up in situations where it will help and turning it down when it might backfire. Zaki takes us from the world of doctors who train medical students to empathise better to social workers who help each other survive empathising too much. From police trainers who help cadets avoid becoming violent cops to political advocates who ask white Americans to literally walk a (dusty) mile in Mexican immigrants' shoes. This book will give you a deepened understanding of how empathy works, how to control it and how to become the type of empathiser you want to be.
The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World
by Jamil Zaki&“In this masterpiece, Jamil Zaki weaves together the very latest science with stories that will stay in your heart forever.&”—Angela Duckworth, author of GritDon&’t miss Jamil Zaki&’s TED Talk, &“We&’re experiencing an empathy shortage, but we can fix it together,&” online now. Empathy is in short supply. We struggle to understand people who aren&’t like us, but find it easy to hate them. Studies show that we are less caring than we were even thirty years ago. In 2006, Barack Obama said that the United States was suffering from an &“empathy deficit.&” Since then, things seem to have only gotten worse. It doesn&’t have to be this way. In this groundbreaking book, Jamil Zaki shares cutting-edge research, including experiments from his own lab, showing that empathy is not a fixed trait—something we&’re born with or not—but rather a skill that can be strengthened through effort. He also tells the stories of people who embody this new perspective, fighting for kindness in the most difficult of circumstances. We meet a former neo-Nazi who is now helping to extract people from hate groups, ex-prisoners discussing novels with the judge who sentenced them, Washington police officers changing their culture to decrease violence among their ranks, and NICU nurses fine-tuning their empathy so that they don&’t succumb to burnout. Written with clarity and passion, The War for Kindness is an inspiring call to action. The future may depend on whether we accept the challenge.Praise for The War for Kindness&“A wide-ranging practical guide to making the world better.&”—NPR&“Relating anecdotes and test cases from his fellow researchers, news events and the imaginary world of literature and entertainment, Zaki makes a vital case for &‘fighting for kindness.&’ . . . If he&’s right—and after reading The War for Kindness, you&’ll probably think so—Zaki&’s work is right on time.&” —San Francisco Chronicle&“In this landmark book, Jamil Zaki gives us a revolutionary perspective on empathy: Empathy can be developed, and, when it is, people, relationships, organizations, and cultures are changed.&”—Carol Dweck, author of Mindset
The War in Their Minds: German Soldiers and Their Violent Pasts in West Germany
by Philip Schmitz Svenja GoltermannHistorians are increasingly looking at the sacrifices Germans had to make during World War II. In this context, Svenja Goltermann has taken up a particularly delicate topic, German soldiers' experience of violence during the war, and repercussions of this experience after their return home. Part I of her book explores the ways in which veterans' experiences of wartime violence reshaped everyday family life, involving family members in complex ways. Part II offers an extensive analysis of the psychiatric response to this new category of patient, and in particular the reluctance of psychiatrists to recognize the psychic afflictions of former POWs as constituting the grounds for long-term disability. Part III analyzes the cultural representations of veterans' psychic suffering, encompassing the daily press, popular films, novels, and theater. Originally published in German as Die Gesellschaft der Uberlebenden, The War in Their Minds examines hitherto unused source material--psychiatric medical files of soldiers--to make clear how difficult it was for the soldiers and their families to readjust to normal, everyday life. Goltermann allows these testimonies of violence, guilt, justification, and helplessness speak for themselves and sensitively explores how the pension claims of returning soldiers were to compete with the claims of the Holocaust victims to compensation.
The War Inside
by Michal ShapiraThe War Inside is a groundbreaking history of the contribution of British psychoanalysis to the making of social democracy, childhood, and the family during World War II and the postwar reconstruction. Psychoanalysts informed understandings not only of individuals, but also of broader political questions. By asserting a link between a real 'war outside' and an emotional 'war inside', psychoanalysts contributed to an increased state responsibility for citizens' mental health. They made understanding children and the mother-child relationship key to the successful creation of a democratic citizenry. Using rich archival sources, the book revises the common view of psychoanalysis as an elite discipline by taking it out of the clinic and into the war nursery, the juvenile court, the state welfare committee, and the children's hospital. It traces the work of the second generation of psychoanalysts after Freud in response to total war and explores its broad postwar effects on British society.
The War of the Sexes: How Conflict and Cooperation Have Shaped Men and Women from Prehistory to the Present
by Paul SeabrightHow our stone-age brains made modern society, and why it matters for relationships between men and womenAs countless love songs, movies, and self-help books attest, men and women have long sought different things. The result? Seemingly inevitable conflict. Yet we belong to the most cooperative species on the planet. Isn't there a way we can use this capacity to achieve greater harmony and equality between the sexes? In The War of the Sexes, Paul Seabright argues that there is—but first we must understand how the tension between conflict and cooperation developed in our remote evolutionary past, how it shaped the modern world, and how it still holds us back, both at home and at work.Drawing on biology, sociology, anthropology, and economics, Seabright shows that conflict between the sexes is, paradoxically, the product of cooperation. The evolutionary niche—the long dependent childhood—carved out by our ancestors requires the highest level of cooperative talent. But it also gives couples more to fight about. Men and women became experts at influencing one another to achieve their cooperative ends, but also became trapped in strategies of manipulation and deception in pursuit of sex and partnership. In early societies, economic conditions moved the balance of power in favor of men, as they cornered scarce resources for use in the sexual bargain. Today, conditions have changed beyond recognition, yet inequalities between men and women persist, as the brains, talents, and preferences we inherited from our ancestors struggle to deal with the unpredictable forces unleashed by the modern information economy.Men and women today have an unprecedented opportunity to achieve equal power and respect. But we need to understand the mixed inheritance of conflict and cooperation left to us by our primate ancestors if we are finally to escape their legacy.
War on Sacred Grounds
by Ron E. HassnerSacred sites offer believers the possibility of communing with the divine and achieving deeper insight into their faith. Yet their spiritual and cultural importance can lead to competition as religious groups seek to exclude rivals from practicing potentially sacrilegious rituals in the hallowed space and wish to assert their own claims. Holy places thus create the potential for military, theological, or political clashes, not only between competing religious groups but also between religious groups and secular actors. In War on Sacred Grounds, Ron E. Hassner investigates the causes and properties of conflicts over sites that are both venerated and contested; he also proposes potential means for managing these disputes. Hassner illustrates a complex and poorly understood political dilemma with accounts of the failures to reach settlement at Temple Mount/Haram el-Sharif, leading to the clashes of 2000, and the competing claims of Hindus and Muslims at Ayodhya, which resulted in the destruction of the mosque there in 1992. He also addresses more successful compromises in Jerusalem in 1967 and Mecca in 1979. Sacred sites, he contends, are particularly prone to conflict because they provide valuable resources for both religious and political actors yet cannot be divided. The management of conflicts over sacred sites requires cooperation, Hassner suggests, between political leaders interested in promoting conflict resolution and religious leaders who can shape the meaning and value that sacred places hold for believers. Because a reconfiguration of sacred space requires a confluence of political will, religious authority, and a window of opportunity, it is relatively rare. Drawing on the study of religion and the study of politics in equal measure, Hassner's account offers insight into the often-violent dynamics that come into play at the places where religion and politics collide.
War, Peace and International Security
by Jan EichlerThis book examines and explains the dialectic of war and peace between the outbreak of WWI and the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. The theoretical inspiration is built upon Galtung's concept of negative and positive peace, Aron#65533;s distinction between strategy and diplomacy, and Carr#65533;s theory of periodization. Here, the author compares globalization with the interwar period and examines how the first decade#65533;s positive peace, diplomacy, and big hopes were replaced by negative peace, and explains the growing role of military strategy which culminated after the Russian annexation of Crimea and the following military incidents between NATO and Russia. This volume will be of interest to teachers, students, and researchers in the fields of modern history, international security and peace studies.
War Trauma and Its Wake: Expanding the Circle of Healing (Psychosocial Stress Series)
by Raymond Monsour Scurfield Katherine Theresa PlatoniDecades after Charles Figley’s landmark Trauma and Its Wake was published, our understanding of trauma has grown and deepened, but we still face considerable challenges when treating trauma survivors. This is especially the case for professionals who work with veterans and active-duty military personnel. War Trauma and Its Wake, then, is a vital book. The editors—one a Vietnam veteran who wrote the overview chapter on treatment for Trauma and Its Wake, the other an Army Reserve psychologist with four deployments—have produced a book that addresses both the specific needs of particular warrior communities as well as wider issues such as battlemind, guilt, suicide, and much, much more. The editors’ and contributors’ deep understanding of the issues that warriors face makes War Trauma and Its Wake a crucial book for understanding the military experience, and the lessons contained in its pages are essential for anyone committed to healing war trauma.
War Veterans and Fascism in Interwar Europe (Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare #50)
by Ángel AlcaldeThis book explores, from a transnational viewpoint, the historical relationship between war veterans and fascism in interwar Europe. Until now, historians have been roughly divided between those who assume that 'brutalization' (George L. Mosse) led veterans to join fascist movements and those who stress that most ex-soldiers of the Great War became committed pacifists and internationalists. Transcending the debates of the brutalization thesis and drawing upon a wide range of archival and published sources, this work focuses on the interrelated processes of transnationalization and the fascist permeation of veterans' politics in interwar Europe to offer a wider perspective on the history of both fascism and veterans' movements. A combination of mythical constructs, transfers, political communication, encounters and networks within a transnational space explain the relationship between veterans and fascism. Thus, this book offers new insights into the essential ties between fascism and war, and contributes to the theorization of transnational fascism. Offers a Europe-wide transnational perspective on the complex phenomenon of fascism Analyzes the cultural, sociological and political origins of fascism and its proliferations across Europe Transcends the traditional paradigm of the 'brutalization' thesis and challenges conventional views of war veterans' identities and history
The War Within: Preventing Suicide in the U. S. Military
by Rachel M. Burns Rajeev Ramchand Joie Acosta Lisa H. Jaycox Christopher G. PerninThe increase in suicides among military personnel has raised concern. This book reviews the current evidence on suicide epidemiology in the military, identifies state-of-the-art suicide-prevention programs, describes and catalogs suicide-prevention activities in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and across each service, and recommends ways to ensure that the activities in DoD and across each service reflect state-of-the-art prevention science.
Warning: Psychiatry Can Be Hazardous to Your Mental Health
by William GlasserHow psychopharmacology has usurped the role of psychotherapy in our society, to the great detriment of the patients involved. William Glasser describes in Warning: Psychiatry Can Be Hazardous to Your Mental Health the sea change that has taken place in the treatment of mental health in the last few years. Millions of patients are now routinely being given prescriptions for a wide range of drugs including Ritalin, Prosac, Zoloft and related drugs which can be harmful to the brain. A previous generation of patients would have had a course of psychotherapy without brain-damaging chemicals. Glasser explains the wide implications of this radical change in treatment and what can be done to counter it.
Warning Signs: How to Protect Your Kids from Becoming Victims or Perpetrators of Violence and Aggression
by Brian Johnson Laurie BerdahlWarning Signs provides practical methods to reduce harm to and by children. Doctors Johnson and Berdahl present the most common risk factors and warning signs, along with practical parenting advice and strategies for raising strong, safe kids and protecting them from becoming either perpetrators or victims. They explain how the "old" risk factors--child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, sexual assault, and poverty--have been compounded by new ones in the past 20 years, such as violent media, kids' entitled attitudes, parents' fear of intervention, and increases in childhood mental illness, disrupted families, substance use, bullying, access to weapons, and social media. They provide sample language for tough conversations with kids and with other adults. Full of specific, practical ideas, this book will appeal to parents who want to raise kind and compassionate children.
Warped Factors: A Neurotic's Guide to the Universe
by Walter Koenig"Beneath the tinsel of Hollywood," Oscar Levant once said, "is the real tinsel." Beneath that lies a cornucopia of absurd behavior and bizarre experiences that rival the most creative silver screen fiction. As a young transplant from New York in the 1950s and '60s Walter Koenig quickly came to know Hollywood as a place of energy and opportunity where life's uncertainties loomed large. Launching an acting career in this unpredictable cultural cauldron, he wound his way through various misadventures before finding he had attained a degree of success that surprised even him. This is Koenig's story--from growing up as the neurotic child of Russian immigrants in 1940s Manhattan through his rise to Star Trek fame as Pavel Chekov, Russian navigator of the U.S.S. Enterprise, and beyond. Not a typical Hollywood memoir, Warped Factors is anything but aloof. Koenig's very human narrative is full of the kind of insecurities and quirks anyone can relate to. With wry wit, striking candor, and a true gift for storytelling, Koenig takes us on a sometimes bumpy but often hilarious trip through his galaxy. Blind faith and a healthy sense of irony seem to sustain him as he relates a steady stream of anecdotes, including: *** * Pitching a story to an NBC producer who is in the midst of an out-of-body experience; * Having a loaded gun placed in his ear by a jealous manager; * Performing a controversial play that was interrupted by someone believed to be a member of the American Nazi party dressed in the uniform of a Chicken Delight delivery boy; * Getting fired from a CBS movie of the week for staring at the director; * Being mistaken for a bellhop during a public appearance in his Star Trek uniform; * Declining a Star Trek convention attendee's invitation to help sacrifice a chicken in her hotel room. Of course, this amusing memoir also takes us behind the scenes of Star Trek, with fresh perspectives not only on the cast members themselves but also on the development and evolution of the megalithic sci-fi legend. In fact, Koenig includes a number of the script ideas he himself pitched over the years, including a proposed outline for Star Trek VI (one that saw the deaths of several main crew members, including Kirk) and several for The Next Generation series. Also included are Koenig's notes to producer Harve Bennett on Star Trek IT. The Wrath of Khan, as well as his commentary on several other projects. Finally, Koenig offers candid reflections not only on the Star Trek years but on his life and career since. Most notable are his well-received stints on stage and his current role as the insidious Alfred Bester on television's Babylon S. Enjoying both critical and popular success, Koenig has once again confirmed his enduring position in science fiction's acting pantheon.
Warring Friends: Alliance Restraint in International Politics (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)
by Jeremy PressmanAllied nations often stop each other from going to war. Some countries even form alliances with the specific intent of restraining another power and thereby preventing war. Furthermore, restraint often becomes an issue in existing alliances as one ally wants to start a war, launch a military intervention, or pursue some other risky military policy while the other ally balks. In Warring Friends, Jeremy Pressman draws on and critiques realist, normative, and institutionalist understandings of how alliance decisions are made. Alliance restraint often has a role to play both in the genesis of alliances and in their continuation. As this book demonstrates, an external power can apply the brakes to an incipient conflict, and even unheeded advice can aid in clarifying national goals. The power differentials between allies in these partnerships are influenced by leadership unity, deception, policy substitutes, and national security priorities. Recent controversy over the complicated relationship between the U. S. and Israeli governments-especially in regard to military and security concerns-is a reminder that the alliance has never been easy or straightforward. Pressman highlights multiple episodes during which the United States attempted to restrain Israel's military policies: Israeli nuclear proliferation during the Kennedy Administration; the 1967 Arab-Israeli War; preventing an Israeli preemptive attack in 1973; a small Israeli operation in Lebanon in 1977; the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982; and Israeli action during the Gulf War of 1991. As Pressman shows, U. S. initiatives were successful only in 1973, 1977, and 1991, and tensions have flared up again recently as a result of Israeli arms sales to China. Pressman also illuminates aspects of the Anglo-American special relationship as revealed in several cases: British nonintervention in Iran in 1951; U. S. nonintervention in Indochina in 1954; U. S. commitments to Taiwan that Britain opposed, 1954-1955; and British intervention and then withdrawal during the Suez War of 1956. These historical examples go far to explain the context within which the Blair administration failed to prevent the U. S. government from pursuing war in Iraq at a time of unprecedented American power.
Warring with Words: Narrative and Metaphor in Politics (Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology Series)
by Michael Hanne William D. Crano Jeffrey Scott MioScholars in many of the disciplines surrounding politics explicitly utilize either a narrative perspective or a metaphor perspective (though rarely the two in combination) to analyze issues -- theoretical and practical, domestic and international -- in the broad field of politics. Among the topics they have studied are: competing metaphors for the state or nation which have been coined over the centuries in diverse cultures; the frequency with which communal and international conflicts are generated, at least in part, by the clashing religious and historical narratives held by opposing groups; the cognitive short-cuts employing metaphor by which citizens make sense of politics; the need for political candidates to project a convincing self-narrative; the extent to which the metaphors used to formulate social issues determine the policies which will be developed to resolve them; the failure of narratives around the security of the nation to take account of the individual experiences of women and children. This volume is the first in which eminent scholars from disciplines as diverse as social psychology, anthropology, political theory, international relations, feminist political science, and media studies, have sought to integrate the narrative and the metaphor perspectives on politics. It will appeal to any scholar interested in the many ways in which narrative and metaphor function in combination as cognitive and rhetorical instruments in discourse around politics.
Warrior: A Memoir
by Theresa Larson Alan EisenstockIn this inspiring memoir, a former female Marine platoon leader recalls the wars she has fought--on the playing field, the battlefield, and inside her own soul--revealing how overcoming the harrowing circumstances in her life helped her ultimately redefine what it means to be strong and what "perfect" really is.Theresa Larson has lived multiple lives. At ten she was a caregiver to her dying mother. As an adolescent, an All-Star high school, college, and professional softball player. As a young adult, a fitness competition winner, beauty pageant contestant, and model. And as a grown woman, a high-achieving Lieutenant in the Marines, in charge of an entire platoon while deployed in Iraq.Meanwhile, Theresa was battling bulimia nervosa, an internal struggle which ultimately cut short her military service when she was voluntarily evacuated from combat. Theresa's journey to wellness required the bravery to ask for help, to take care of herself first, and abandon the idea of "perfect." In Warrior, she lays bare all of these lives in intimate and vivid detail, examining extremely personal and sometime painful moments and how, by finally accepting the help of others, she learned to make herself whole. From growing up in a log cabin outside Seattle to facing down the enemy in Iraq, Theresa's journey demonstrates that good health and happiness is a daily, intentional act that requires persistence and commitment.Theresa hopes that through sharing her story, she will help inspire others to empower themselves, embrace their inner warrior and re-define strength. Startling and funny, terrifying and triumphant, heartbreaking and inspirational, Warrior is at heart a story of perseverance and success--of a determined woman who is model for everyone struggling to conquer their own demons. Theresa shows that asking for help can be an act of courage, and that we are stronger than we think when faced with seemingly impossible odds.
Warrior Goddess Training
by Heatherash AmaraThis is a book that teaches women to see themselves as perfect just the way they are; to resist society's insistence that they seek value, wholeness, and love through something outside themselves, such as a husband, children, boyfriend, career, or a spiritual path. Author HeatherAsh Amara has a message for women struggling to find themselves under these false ideals: If you don't love and honor yourself with every fiber of your being, if you struggle with owning your power and passion, then it is time for an inner revolution! It is time to claim your Warrior Goddess energy. Amara challenges women to be "warrior goddesses;" to be a woman who: Ventures out to find herself Combats fear and doubt Reclaims her power and vibrancy Demonstrates her strength of compassion and fierce love Drawing on the wisdom from Buddhism, Toltec wisdom, and ancient earth-based goddess spirituality, Amara, combines them all with the goal of helping women become empowered, authentic, and free. Also included here are personal stories, rituals, and exercises that encourage readers to begin their own journey towards becoming warrior goddesses. This is an essential tool for women interested in self-empowerment and wholeness.
Warrior Mother: A Memoir of Fierce Love, Unbearable Loss, and Rituals that Heal
by Sheila K. Collins PhDWarrior Mother is the true story of a mother&’s fierce love and determination, and her willingness to go outside the bounds of the ordinary when two of her three adult children are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases. When Sheila Collins&’s best friend, dying of breast cancer, asked her to accompany her through what turned out to be the last fourteen days of her life, she didn&’t know that the experience was preparing her for what lay ahead with her own children. In the years that followed, Collins had to face both her son&’s diagnosis with AIDS and her daughter&’s diagnosis with breast cancer. Warrior Mother documents how she faces these challenges and the issues accompanying them—from learning to be the mother of a gay son to visiting a healer in Brazil on her daughter&’s behalf when she decides on bone marrow transplant treatment. Experience as a professional social worker and family therapist doesn&’t always help Collins to cope with her children&’s illnesses—but her relationship with improvisational song, dance, storytelling, and women&’s spirituality rituals carries her through. Warrior Mother follows Collins&’s family through memorials and celebrations of lives well lived, all the while exploring the impact of grief on those left behind and the rituals that help them heal.
Warten auf die Psychotherapie?: Informieren – Entscheiden – Selbsthilfe aktivieren
by Achim SchubertDer Bedarf an Psychotherapie ist so groß wie nie zuvor, die Versorgung mit Therapieplätzen für kompetente Psychotherapien aber nach wie vor sehr knapp. Therapiesuchende müssen sich daher oft auf lange Wartezeiten einstellen und von Psychotherapeut*innen vertröstet und auf Wartelisten gesetzt werden.Statt abzuwarten und weiter geschehen zu lassen, dass sich die Therapiesuchenden als Opfer mangelnder Versorgung fühlen, liefert dieser Ratgeber betroffenen Personen vorbereitende Informationen, was sie in einer Psychotherapie erwartet, sowie anschauliche Beispiele in Form gängiger Fallgeschichten, die dabei helfen sollen, eigene problematische Denk- und Verhaltensweisen aufzudecken und hilfreiche Narrative abzuleiten. Darüber hinaus bietet dieses Buch praktische Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe, zur Linderung von Symptomen sowie Möglichkeiten zur individuellen und zielführenden Vorbereitung einer Psychotherapie.
Warum Achtsamkeit?: Coachingimpulse zur (Selbst-)Führung
by Nikola PlohrDas Buch folgt dem Anliegen, einen Dialog zu eröffnen und zum Nachdenken und Reflektieren anzuregen. Der Prozess, durch den das Buch die Leser*Innen leitet ist für alle geeignet, die sich mehr mit sich selbst und ihren inneren Mustern beschäftigen möchten und auch offen sind für neue Anregungen im Umgang mit anderen. Der Text führt von innen nach außen, aus der Theorie in die Praxis und aus der Reflexion ins Tun. Der erste Teil, Inner Leadership, widmet sich den vielschichtigen Möglichkeiten zur Selbstreflexion, die für das zeitgenössische Verständnis von Führung unabdinglich ist. Achtsamkeit hält als Praxis und Begriff den Raum für die Hinwendung zum Innenleben, den inneren Geschichtenerzähler*Innen, dem individuellen Umgang mit Kritik, Emotionen und dem allgegenwärtigen Streben nach Anerkennung. Im zweiten Teil wird die teambasierte Führungspraxis in den Fokus gerückt. Unter dem Schlagwort Mindful Leadership werden einige der vielen zwischenmenschlichen Ebenen und Verbindungen beleuchtet, die nicht nur das Arbeitsleben prägen. Darunter: Kommunikation, Inspiration, Mut, Entscheidungen, sowie Zugehörigkeit und Nachhaltigkeit. Jedes Kapitel endet mit Reflexionsfragen und Übungen, die aus der Theorie in die Praxis überleiten.
Warum der Spaß am Bösen ein Teil von uns ist
by Christoph KlotterIn der Auseinandersetzung mit de Sade und Freud erhält der Leser eine Anregung, die Geschichte des Bösen neu zu denken, das Böse als Teil des Menschen und seiner Kultur zu denken. Neben Errungenschaften wie Demokratie, Menschenrechten und persönlicher Freiheit wird nämlich zu oft vergessen, dass dieser Kultur auch Schattenseiten innewohnen. Dass der Mensch fragmentiert ist, widersprüchlich fühlt und handelt, wird negiert. Als Folge vertieft sich seine Zerrissenheit. Das Buch ist somit auch eine Anregung für die wachsende Anzahl derer, die sich derzeit darüber Gedanken machen, warum das Böse offenkundig erstarkt und sich ungehemmt zeigt.
Warum Gespräche scheitern: Gelassen mit schwierigen Menschen umgehen
by Rainer SachseDieser Ratgeber hilft Ihnen, wenn Sie im Alltag regelmäßig schwierigen Interaktionssituationen ausgesetzt sind. Beispiel: Interaktionspartner kritisieren, werten ab, reagieren ärgerlich aus scheinbar nichtigen Anlässen, geben Anweisungen, ohne dazu berechtigt zu sein, manipulieren usw. Solche Handlungen gehen meist von Personen aus, die sogenannte Persönlichkeitsstile oder Persönlichkeitsstörungen aufweisen. Sie empfinden das als stressig, unangenehm, belastend oder ärgerlich und es ist meist schwierig, konstruktiv damit umzugehen? Dann sind Sie in bester Gesellschaft. Das Buch soll verständlich machen, warum Personen solche Handlungen ausführen, was sie damit wollen und wie Sie konstruktiv damit umgehen können. Geeignet für Partnerschaft, Familie, bei der Arbeit mit Kollegen und Chefs oder auch bei Menschen, mit denen man nur wenig (aber schwierigen) Kontakt hat. Hilfreiche Strategien aus dem Inhalt: Gelassen bleiben, entspannt bleiben – nicht aggressiv reagieren – nicht mit gleicher Strategie aufwarten – nicht defensiv reagieren – souverän bleiben. Über den Autor: Prof. Dr. Rainer Sachse macht komplexe psychologische Sachverhalte allgemein verständlich und stellt sie humorvoll und einfühlsam dar. Das ist für Laien ebenso mit Gewinn lesbar wie für Fachkolleginnen und -kollegen.
Warum Hunde?: Die erstaunliche Geschichte des besten Freunds des Menschen – ein historischer, wissenschaftlicher, philosophischer und politischer Streifzug
by John HomansWas Hunde und Menschen füreinander sind In Warum Hunde? erkundet John Homans die besondere Rolle, die Hunde in unserer Welt spielen. Über Jahrtausende hinweg entwickelte sich der Hund zuerst vom Wildtier zum Arbeitstier und dann zu einem fast ebenbürtigen Mitglied des menschlichen Sozialgefüges. Heute sind Hunde aus unserem Alltag nicht mehr wegzudenken. Sie sind treue Begleiter und Helfer, ein bedeutender Wirtschaftsfaktor und beliebte Objekte wissenschaftlicher Untersuchungen zu Themen wie Tierhaltung, Evolution und Kognition. Homans beschreibt nicht nur, warum Hunde auf Menschen so anziehend wirken und in welcher Weise sie sogar unserer Gesundheit zuträglich sind, sondern geht auch der Frage nach, warum sich die Beziehung zwischen Mensch und Hund im letzten Jahrhundert so rasant verändert hat. Wie schafften es Hunde innerhalb kürzester Zeit, unsere Familien, unsere Häuser und manchmal gar unsere Betten zu erobern und einen milliardenschweren Wirtschaftszweig entstehen zu lassen?[Ein] hinreißendes, informatives Buch, zugleich eine Darstellung der jüngsten Forschungsergebnisse zum Thema Hund und der Erinnerungen von Homans an die Jahre mit seiner Mischlingshündin Stella … bewegend und rundum gelungen. New York Times Book ReviewEine bemerkenswerte Chronik jener Reise, die den Haushund über Jahrtausende hinweg direkt in unsere Herzen führte, geschrieben mit viel Gefühl und zugleich wissenschaftlich fundiert … Eine wunderbare, fesselnde Lektüre. The Atlantic_____Der Hund als Teil der menschlichen KulturOhne Stella gäbe es dieses Buch nicht. Der Labradormischling aus dem Tierheim inspirierte John Homans dazu, sich in die komplexe Welt der Hunde mit all ihren Facetten zu vertiefen, von der Stammesgeschichte bis zur Tierrechtsbewegung, von Zuchterfolgen und Designerhunden bis hin zum steten Wandel der Beziehung zwischen Mensch und Hund.Homans hatte das Tierheim aus denselben Gründen aufgesucht wie viele andere Menschen auch – ihm waren Hunde aus seiner Kindheit vertraut, er suchte einen Gefährten für seinen kleinen Sohn und vielleicht auch einen Vorwand, um ausgedehnte Streifzüge durch sein Viertel zu unternehmen. Schnell fügt sich Stella in den Tagesablauf der Familie ein, und mehr noch: Sie wird, anders als die Hunde seiner Jugend, wie ein vollwertiges Familienmitglied behandelt. Tierarztrechnungen in astronomischer Höhe, Diskussionen über richtige Ernährung und ausreichende Bewegung sowie die Sorge, ob sie wohl glücklich ist – all dies wirft die Frage auf, warum sich das Leben von Hunden in unserer Gesellschaft so verändert hat, wo doch die Hofhunde aus Homans‘ Kindheit offenbar auch ganz zufrieden gewesen waren.Der tiefgreifende kulturelle Wandel in der Beziehung zwischen Mensch und Hund und seine Hintergründe sind das Thema dieses Buches. John Homans hat dafür Gespräche mit Wissenschaftlern, Tierschützern, Züchtern und Trainern geführt und aktuelle Forschungsergebnisse aus ganz unterschiedlichen Disziplinen zusammengetragen. Hunde sind für viele von uns nicht zuletzt deshalb so faszinierend, weil sie mit einer Pfote in der Tier- und mit einer in der Menschenwelt stehen. So können sie uns eine Menge über Liebe, Tod und Moral beibringen – und da sie uns nah und dennoch so anders sind, auch über das Menschsein.