What I’ve Been Reading

This book is a conversation between Bruce Perry (child psychiatrist and neuroscientist, child trauma specialist, and author of another excellent but emotionally difficult to read book The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog) and Oprah Winfrey, media leader and philanthropist, who has a special interest in child trauma. I wasn’t sure what to expect […]

The author Joseph LeDoux is the world’s leading expert on fear and anxiety. This book is a follow up to his earlier book The Emotional Brain. In this book he critiques much of the historical work on fear (e.g. the role of the amygdala and the relationship between the physiological threat response and the feeling

This book was originally published in 1992, but was republished in 2022. It’s essential reading for anyone who works with people who have experienced trauma. The book is in two parts: the first part explores the experience of trauma, and the second the stages of recovery. The book provides an overview of the history of

In this book Tversky argues that movement and actions are the foundation of thought, rather than language. The first part of the book explores how we represent the world in the mind, and the second part how we represent our mind in the world (e.g. by actions, maps, drawing, and art). The book shows how

This book is a fascinating account of how networks work. It explores how who we are connected to, directly and indirectly, can make a significant difference to things like power, opportunities, spread of infections, and dissemination of information. It also demonstrates how different kinds of connections (e.g. whether you are the hub of various connections,

As one of the reviewers said, this book will, in thirty year’s time remain a – possibly the – classic treatment of power in the English language. I revisited this book when preparing some advanced training about power in conflict. It’s one of the best overviews of power that I have come across – it’s

I found this book absolutely fascinating. While I’ve read a lot about body language, this book is about something distinct and different. It is about the hand signals that we use in conjunction with speech, and how they can communicate and sometimes change what a person is thinking (both the person gesturing and the person

In this book Riskin covers three different areas that are useful in managing conflict. The first part is a basic overview of various negotiation theories (positions and interests, emotions and core concerns, and difficult conversations). The second part introduces some different approaches to mindfulness practice. The third part explores Internal Family Systems and how this

This book is all about harnessing the power of intertemporal choice – that is, understanding how the choices we make today will have an impact on the future. Hershfield explores how we tend to think about and relate to our future self / selves, and how various approaches can lead to very different outcomes. He

This just released book is a fascinating exploration of perfectionism – what it is, where it comes from, it’s impact, and how we can escape from it. Curran explains that perfectionism is much more than high standards and a tendency towards hard work. It’s an entire worldview – a way of existing that defines how