Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of Good Will - Masterfully Inspiring
Review: "There are beings who come to one to tune the music," said Anais Nin. Little could I have imagined that most profoundly would be met on an ordinary night, when I turned to open the first pages of "Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love." Stephanie Dowrick communicates with a depth of human understanding that is compassionate, confident, and purely optimistic. She penetrates far into the interior spaces where people live - and provokes a fresh view and artistry for life. With beauty and tenderness, Dowrick's voice resonates with an intimate reality that moves in keenly and reverberates out towards more thoughtful and honest living. There is a purity of love and human kindness implicit to Dowrick's moving inside and out of seven restorative virtues - a universal cord that is supportive and uniting. A benevolent connection with inner and outer worlds that feels charming, calming, unfettered, necessary, and right to embrace again and again until we brighten that embrace and begin again. And that's enchanting. And that's the power of this Author and the power of this Book.

Don't wait to find any copies of "Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love" left behind on train seats. Better you will find them on bed stands or loved in someone's hands - read and reread. Like my copy that is worn. I also highly recommend "Intimacy and Solitude". Thank you Stephanie Dowrick.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece of Good Will - Masterfully Inspiring
Review: "There are beings who come to one to tune the music," said Anais Nin. Little could I have imagined that most profoundly would be met on an ordinary night, when I turned to open the first pages of "Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love." Stephanie Dowrick communicates with a depth of human understanding that is compassionate, confident, and purely optimistic. She penetrates far into the interior spaces where people live - and provokes a fresh view and artistry for life. With beauty and tenderness, Dowrick's voice resonates with an intimate reality that moves in keenly and reverberates out towards more thoughtful and honest living. There is a purity of love and human kindness implicit to Dowrick's moving inside and out of seven restorative virtues - a universal cord that is supportive and uniting. A benevolent connection with inner and outer worlds that feels charming, calming, unfettered, necessary, and right to embrace again and again until we brighten that embrace and begin again. And that's enchanting. And that's the power of this Author and the power of this Book.

Don't wait to find any copies of "Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love" left behind on train seats. Better you will find them on bed stands or loved in someone's hands - read and reread. Like my copy that is worn. I also highly recommend "Intimacy and Solitude". Thank you Stephanie Dowrick.

Rating:
Summary: How the Humane Virtues Can Shape Life For the Better
Review:

Is it possible to be "good" without being dull? Is it possible to be generous and successful? Considerate, yet free? Should we forgive someone who has hurt us deeply? As the century closes, is it possible to find new meaning in compassionate love?

"With an intelligent mixture of insight and scholarship, Dowrick, a psychotherapist and author of 'Intimacy and Solitude,' furnishes new seekers as well as seasoned believers a refreshing approach to contemporary spirituality. Her sources, and certainly her readership, range widely in philosophy and tradition. Courage, fidelity, restraint, generosity, tolerance and, especially, forgiveness -- six virtues Dowrick says can form and transform us -- make up the paths the author has explored in her personal journey. Through thoughtful observations and compelling stories, Dowrick models for the reader an effective way to consider the journey toward love of others and of self. 'Forgiveness lives or dies not on what has been done to us and how we feel about that, but on the deepest and most telling attitudes we bring to...the meaning we find in existence,' she concludes. The author's spiritual hunger and energy give her writing momentum. That her approach seems unfocused at times can be forgiven, because the writing is clear and lends itself to savoring the material in small portions. Dowrick has extracted and assimilated salient truths from the world's wisdom literature here, and her book should interest those wanting to synthesize the truths rooted in the world's spiritual tradtions."

-- Publishers Weekly

Rating:
Summary: An indespensable treasure for everyone!!!
Review: If I could give this book more then five stars, I believe that would still be an understatement to the emmense treasure house of wisdom that will profoundly effect any heart/mind open enough to allow healing guidance that is based in the human virtues that all of us possess and all struggle to work on strengthening.

This is a very personal statement to make, and is not said lightly.

I feel very deeply both intellectually and emotionally about the profound impact the privledge of reading her text has and will continue to have on my own world.

This book is a treasure of literature that should be read by any who seek to live a more tranquil, focused and meaningful life!!!

Rating:
Summary: A disappointing treatment of significant subject matter.
Review: The idea of a book dealing with the relevance of basic virtues to daily life is great. I got this book based upon a glowing review in my local paper, but found it a major disappointment and finally left the book on the train, unfinished. The author never adequately defines what she means by the individual virtues (courage, fidelity, etc.). Instead the book consists of a collection of vaguely "New Age" sounding quotes around which a cloud of pleasant thoughts cluster. For example, a random quote from the chapter on Restraint reads: "Restraint is something we have the chance to practise every day. Some days we might call it forbearance. Often, as with the woman in the supermarket, the meaning of restraint is revealed only when we are at the absolute edge of our limits. Then, wonderfully, it extends our limits." While there are a number of interesting, concrete, anecdotes included, they are not worth the trouble of wading through the rest of the book to find.

Rating:
Summary: This book is brilliant.
Review: The title is a bit deceptive, as forgiveness is one of 7 "humane virtues" discussed in depth in this book. It's beautifully written with a lot of heart and depth. I plan to read "Intimacy and Solitude" next to get more of her writing.

Rating:
Summary: This book is brilliant.
Review: The title is a bit deceptive, as forgiveness is one of 7 "humane virtues" discussed in depth in this book. It's beautifully written with a lot of heart and depth. I plan to read "Intimacy and Solitude" next to get more of her writing.

Rating:
Summary: New Insights Into Old Virtues For Our Modern Days
Review: This book is a virtual treasure trove of insight and inspiration for anyone looking into examining the timeless virtues of old. Stephanie Dowrick calls upon her wealth of counseling and cross-cultural experiences to help shed new light into many of today's social disturbances. Using contemporary and ancient sources of wisdom to illustrate these virtues, one can see clearly how the lack of these elements does, in fact, cause problems.

In today's world where the boundaries of what's right and wrong are often blurred, this book helps clear the heart, mind, and soul of much confusion without becoming dogmatic or preachy. I'd recommend this book for Valentine's Day or as a gift to anyone struggling with any type of emotional issue or conflicts between the heart and mind. Definitely, a good read for any time or place.

Rating:
Summary: Worthless, time consuming book that isn't a book really
Review: This book was very cheap when I bought it and only after I have read the first one hundred pages I realised why this book was eighty percent cheaper then the original retail price. This book
is non-sense and out of those 100 pages I've read so carefully,
I haven't come across anything that was worth thinking about. If she didn't borrow sayings of some very smart people this book would have surely been a 100% non-sense.
For people who are well read I hope they'll never be a victim by buying this book and spending at least a few minutes digging in the mud and yet find themselves disappointed for not finding any gold at all - as there is none.
I don't regret the money I spent on this book. It was worth it even though next time I go to buy books and see this writer's books I'll be running away from that shelf as if I've seen a I-don't-know-what.
So, so disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing, life-changing book
Review: This is one of the most amazing books I've ever read. It's like a treasure chest - not something you read once, then put back on the shelf, but something to be slowly digested, savored, and worked into your life. Since the author draws on sources from many religions and view points, I think that everyone will probably find something they relate to. I know the book isn't written specifically for 12-step recovery, but it's greatly helping me in my spiritual journey.