Every generation, a phrase enters our consciousness. In the sixties it was civil rights; in the eighties it was self-esteem; now our word is empathy.
But what actually is empathy? Is it just one thing? Is it inherited? Can it be taught? Is 'corporate empathy' an oxymoron? And is empathy always a desirable human value?
Cris Beam tackles these questions and more as she journeys from neuroscience labs, to classrooms; from a reconciliation program in the US, to South Africa, where the first children born since Apartheid are coming of age. She talks to scientists studying mirror neurons and to teachers helping children identify emotions, to victims of childhood abuse, and to those attempting the most difficult empathy of all: empathy for the genocidal state. Along the way, she examines her own past and family relationships, and discovers what it means to 'feel you' - and how we can all apply empathy in our complex lives.
Cris Beam is an author and professor in New York City, where she teaches creative writing at Columbia University and New York University. Her previous books include To the End of June: the intimate life of American foster care and Transparent: love, family, and living the T with transgender teenagers, which won a Lambda Literary Award and was a Stonewall Honor book. Cris' work has also been featured in The New York Times, HuffPost, and The Guardian, and on This American Life.
Title: I Feel You: a journey to the far reaches of empathy
Author: Cris Beam
ISBN: 9781911617068
Binding:
Publisher: Scribe Publications
Publication Date: 2018-06-14
Number of Pages: 272
Weight: 0.3201 kg
'A thoughtful exploration of empathy in all its forms.'
* The New York Times *
'[Beam's] exceptional intelligence, equally evident in her thinking and her writing, shines light on empathy from extraordinary angles.'
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Booklist (starred review) *
'Her exceptional intelligence, equally evident in her thinking and her writing, shines light on empathy from extraordinary angles ... Her clear goal is to empower readers with the knowledge to enact the complicated and varied forms of empathy necessary to navigate modern times.'
* Booklist Online *
'Beam offers an intelligent three-part exploration of empathy's cultural impact ... A fascinating and well-rounded view of how empathy functions in society and why some cultivate it as a skill while others consider it a good moral value.'
* Kirkus Reviews *
'I Feel You is not a book about being or striving to be perfect. If anything it is a reminder of our and others' imperfections and an examination of our willingness to understand them.'
* Melanie Cheng, Spectrum, The Saturday Age *
'She discusses empathetic experiments in the arts, educational facilities and the justice system in this comprehensive reference book, which will be a useful addition to the literature for people working in these fields ... Beam's book provides thought-provoking discussions.'
* Weekend Australian *
'Cris Beam is an extraordinary writer possessed of a sharp, supple, and deeply generous mind. I Feel You is a triumph of reporting and personal reflection alike.'
-- Meghan Daum, author of
The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion'[Beam's] exceptional intelligence, equally evident in her thinking and her writing, shines light on empathy from extraordinary angles ... Her clear goal is to empower readers with the knowledge to enact the complicated and varied forms of empathy necessary to navigate modern times.' * Booklist, starred review *
'An intelligent three-part exploration of empathy's cultural impact ... Fascinating and well-rounded.' * Kirkus Reviews *
'A lively and well-researched look at how humans experience empathy, and why we should all have more of it.' * Library Journal *
