A field-tested, practical guidebook for reclaiming health in the face of intergenerational trauma.
How to confront and control the transmission of suffering.
Drawing on wisdom gleaned from years of professional experience as a psychologist as well as her own troubled family history, Buqué presents a “comprehensive recipe to shedding intergenerational trauma and an immersive orientation into how to do this work.” The author organizes the text into three major sections. In the first, she defines trauma and the dynamics of its inheritance and expression; the second examines the “layered” dimensions of both pain and healing, along with how cultural conventions can reinforce toxic behaviors and mindsets; and the third explores the impact of grief on mental and physical well-being and how one might create salvific forms of mourning and recovery. Each chapter balances discussions of the origins and contours of trauma with practical lessons on how to begin a healing journey. With the proper tools and a courageous commitment to recovery, the author explains, one will discover that “every problem is survivable” and that longstanding patterns of dysfunction can be re-formed into healthier alternatives. A holistic conception of well-being—departing from the standard Western medical model, which tends to view symptoms, and individuals, apart from a network of relations—informs this conviction. Becoming well involves understanding how our identities have been shaped by a series of influences extending far into the past. Moreover, any genuine emancipation from traumatic legacies can only be achieved by “co-healing, or healing in community.” A notable strength of this work is Buqué’s clear and compassionate treatment of delicate subjects and her credible endorsement of the promise of modern therapeutic interventions. Particularly intriguing are the author’s discussions of the physical consequences of psychological stress, and she compellingly summarizes recent scientific studies demonstrating how trauma can modify genetic expression across generations.
A field-tested, practical guidebook for reclaiming health in the face of intergenerational trauma.Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593472491
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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