Samantha Hardy

This book explores the concept of choice, and the paradox it can create. When people have no choice, life is almost unbearable, and as our choices expand so does our sense of autonomy, control and liberation. Choice improves the quality of our lives (and, side note, our capacity to manage conflict). But Schwartz cautions that […]

This brand new book is another impressive addition to Bernard Mayer’s work, this time in collaboration with a former colleague. The book considers the intersection between the work we do as conflict intervenors and social activism. It provides a blueprint for how to use conflict intervention as a tool for social change. The authors argue

Paul Ekman has become a household name, and most people are familiar with his work on facial expressions of emotion. He focuses on how we express emotions on our faces, and in particular, how this can happen without any conscious effort on our part. In this book he introduces some foundational information about emotions across

There are two essential books about emotions that everyone should read. One is this one, Emotional Intelligence (published in 1996) and the other is Susan David’s Emotional Agility (published 20 years later in 2016). Both books are about understanding and learning to work with our emotions. Goleman’s book starts with an overview of how our

Dr Susan David is an emotions researcher and executive coach. This book is essential reading for anyone working with clients in conflict, and anyone who experiences emotions (yes, that’s all of us)! ‘Agility’ is about breaking free from our emotional habits so that we can make more conscious choices about how to respond when our

This book has just been released by a UK mediator and former solicitor. It attempts to synthesize much of the recent research about the brain, emotions and behaviour and apply it to our work as mediators. The book chapters focus on Brain, Feeling, Thinking, Intuition, Self, Barriers, Bridges, Persuasion, Prediction, Perception, Money, Power, Truth, Fairness,

This is the newest book by Brené Brown, and as usual it provides an engaging and accessible overview of research about emotions, combined with Brené’s very personal anecdotes. The book’s raison d’etre is to help us understand how our feelings, thoughts and behaviours work together, and how our emotions shape our thoughts and decisions. These

This book is essential reading for anyone who is trying to change, or who supports others to change. The book explains why change is hard, why sustaining change is even harder, and then provides some very practical strategies and scaffolding to support people to do those hard things. The authors identify three surprises about change: