A well written, thoughtful challenge to the honored notion of social work as an institutional instrument of caring. Margolin (counselor education, U. of Iowa) doesn't pull punches in this assessment of the history of social work, pointing out through case records that the field developed an access to the private space of clients, fostered an imposition of middle class standards on the "underclass," disguised a language of power as one of sympathy, and eventually created the current atmosphere of "doublespeak" in which workers burn out or decide to move to private practice. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A therapist explains true kindness as opposed to mere niceness and explores its power and benefits, describing ways to integrate kindness as the response of choice. Included are techniques for developing the ability to empathize with others and strategies for being kind to oneself.

Kindness is the foundation of the world's great religions and most-enduring philosophies. Why, then, does being kind feel so dangerous? If we crave kindness with such intensity, why is it a pleasure we often deny ourselves? And why—despite our longing—are we often suspicious when we are on the receiving end of it? In this brilliant book, the eminent psychoanalyst Adam Phillips and the historian Barbara Taylor examine the pleasures and perils of kindness. Modern people have been taught to perceive ourselves as fundamentally antagonistic to one another, our motives self-seeking. Drawing on intellectual history, literature, psychoanalysis, and contemporary social theory, this book explains how and why we have chosen loneliness over connection. On Kindness argues that a life lived in instinctive, sympathetic identification with others is the one we should allow ourselves to live. Bursting with often shocking insight, this brief and essential book will return to its readers what Marcus Aurelius declared was mankind's "greatest delight": the intense satisfactions of generosity and compassion.

“It’s impossible to resist [this book’s] big-hearted appeal.” —BookPage A little girl and her friend Bear learn the true meaning of selfless kindness in this sweet, stunningly illustrated debut picture book. Bear is sad. All the other animals think he’s mean because he’s so big. But his human friend, Coco, offers to help him. Coco shares her grandmother’s advice: “When life gets dark as winter’s night, share some kindness, bring some light.” They decide to bake cookies to “share some kindness” and make lanterns to “bring some light.” But when the cookies and lanterns don’t work, they must look for another way to win over the other animals. And while they’re at it, Coco and Bear just might discover that kindness is a gift that only comes from the heart.

"A Stanford psychologist offers a bold new understanding of empathy, revealing it to be a skill, not a fixed trait, and showing, through science and stories, how we can all become more empathetic"--

A thoughtful picture book illustrating the power of small acts of kindness, from the award-winning author of Sophie's Squash.

Count out twelve ways to celebrate and honor our friends, family, neighbors, and first responders with small acts of kindness! This fun-filled picture book inspired by "The 12 Days of Christmas" is perfect for fans of Natasha Wing's The Night Before series. Includes stickers! This festive edition to the 12 Days series features sweet, easily achievable acts of empathy like picking flowers for neighbors, writing thank you notes to first responders, and delivering baked goods to loved ones. Young readers and their caregivers will enjoy counting all the different ways they can engage with their communities. This simple rhyming story is paired with cheery illustrations and a full page of stickers, making these books the perfect summertime gift for kids.

It all starts with a crack that we can hardly see, It happens when we shout or if we disagree. Angry words cause a crack to open up and widen, but find out what happens when kindness begins to blossom in this thought-provoking book by Britta Teckentrup.

A memoir about showbiz in the early 20th century that travels from the theaters of Vienna, Prague, and Berlin, to Hollywood during the golden age, complete with encounters with Franz Kafka, Albert Einstein, and Greta Garbo along the way. Salka Viertel’s autobiography tells of a brilliant, creative, and well-connected woman’s pilgrimage through the darkest years of the twentieth century, a journey that would take her from a remote province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to Hollywood. The Kindness of Strangers is, to quote the New Yorker writer S. N. Behrman, “a very rich book. It provides a panorama of the dissolving civilizations of the twentieth century. In all of them the author lived at the apex of their culture and artistic aristocracies. Her childhood . . . is an entrancing idyll. In Berlin, in Prague, in Vienna, there appears Karl Kraus, Kafka, Rilke, Robert Musil, Schoenberg, Einstein, Alban Berg. There is the suffering and disruption of the First World War and the suffering and agony after it, which is described with such intimacy and vividness that you endure these terrible years with the author. Then comes the migration to Hollywood, where Salka’s house on Maybery Road becomes a kind of Pantheon for the gathered artists, musicians, and writers. It seems to me that no one has ever described Hollywood and the life of writers there with such verve.”

In this searing exploration of deadly codependency, the author takes the reader on a spellbinding voyage of discovery that examines the questions: Are some people naturally too caring? Is caring sometimes a mask for darker motives? Can science help us understand how our concerns for others can hurt everything we hold dear? This gripping story brings extraordinary insight to our deepest questions. Is kindness always the right answer? Is kindness always what it seems?