Discover how giving of yourself can lead to some of the most joyous moments in your life—in a book that “deserves a special place on that shelf reserved for truly practical wisdom" (Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People).
Not a day goes by without our being called upon to help one another--at home, at work, on the street, on the phone…. We do what we can. Yet so much comes up to complicate this natural response: "Will I have what it takes?" "How much is enough?" "How can I deal with suffering?" "And what really helps, anyway?"
In this practical helper's companion, the authors explore a path through these confusions, and provide support and inspiration for us in our efforts as members of the helping professions, as volunteers, as community activists, or simply as friends and family trying to meet each other's needs. Here too are deeply moving personal accounts: A housewife brings zoo animals to lift the spirits of nursing home residents; a nun tends the wounded on the first night of the Nicaraguan revolution; a police officer talks a desperate father out of leaping from a roof with his child; a nurse allows an infant to spend its last moments of life in her arms rather than on a hospital machine. From many such stories and the authors' reflections, we can find strength, clarity, and wisdom for those times when we are called on to care for one another.
"A treasury of compassion, made all the more valuable by its many examples of how individuals can interact for the better with people and, indeed, the world around them." —Norman Cousins, author of Anantomy of an Illness
"How Can I Help? deserves a special place on that shelf reserved for truly practical wisdom." —Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People
"How Can I Help? is a gentle, tender, spiritual book." —Karl Menninger, M.D., F.A.P.A
Ram Dass served on the faculty at Stanford and Harvard Universities. In the 1960s, he traveled to India, where he met his guru, and over the course of his life pursued a variety of spiritual practices, including guru kripa, devotional yoga, karma yoga, many forms of meditation, and Sufi and Jewish studies. Many of his books, including Be Here Now, are international bestsellers and classics of their kind. He died in December 2019.
View titles by Ram Dass
Paul Gorman is an author and commentator on visual culture. He has written a number of books including The Wild World of Barney Bubbles: Graphic Design and the Art of Music, The Story of the Face: The Magazine that Changed Culture, and Derek Boshier: Rethink / Re-entry.
View titles by Paul Gorman
Discover how giving of yourself can lead to some of the most joyous moments in your life—in a book that “deserves a special place on that shelf reserved for truly practical wisdom" (Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People).
Not a day goes by without our being called upon to help one another--at home, at work, on the street, on the phone…. We do what we can. Yet so much comes up to complicate this natural response: "Will I have what it takes?" "How much is enough?" "How can I deal with suffering?" "And what really helps, anyway?"
In this practical helper's companion, the authors explore a path through these confusions, and provide support and inspiration for us in our efforts as members of the helping professions, as volunteers, as community activists, or simply as friends and family trying to meet each other's needs. Here too are deeply moving personal accounts: A housewife brings zoo animals to lift the spirits of nursing home residents; a nun tends the wounded on the first night of the Nicaraguan revolution; a police officer talks a desperate father out of leaping from a roof with his child; a nurse allows an infant to spend its last moments of life in her arms rather than on a hospital machine. From many such stories and the authors' reflections, we can find strength, clarity, and wisdom for those times when we are called on to care for one another.
Praise
"A treasury of compassion, made all the more valuable by its many examples of how individuals can interact for the better with people and, indeed, the world around them." —Norman Cousins, author of Anantomy of an Illness
"How Can I Help? deserves a special place on that shelf reserved for truly practical wisdom." —Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People
"How Can I Help? is a gentle, tender, spiritual book." —Karl Menninger, M.D., F.A.P.A
Author
Ram Dass served on the faculty at Stanford and Harvard Universities. In the 1960s, he traveled to India, where he met his guru, and over the course of his life pursued a variety of spiritual practices, including guru kripa, devotional yoga, karma yoga, many forms of meditation, and Sufi and Jewish studies. Many of his books, including Be Here Now, are international bestsellers and classics of their kind. He died in December 2019.
View titles by Ram Dass
Paul Gorman is an author and commentator on visual culture. He has written a number of books including The Wild World of Barney Bubbles: Graphic Design and the Art of Music, The Story of the Face: The Magazine that Changed Culture, and Derek Boshier: Rethink / Re-entry.
View titles by Paul Gorman
