3.25/5. Read this back in 2018 and did not review it back then. I don't remember enough about it to give it proper feedback.

Didn't finished. Unfortunately this book didn't quite worked out for me as I quickly lost interest in this specific subject. Thank you for the opportunity

I went to college initially planning to double major in neuroscience and psychology, so this book is right up my alley as it pulls from both fields. I thought the book was fascinating and thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.

I'm a momma to 4 young kids and it can be easy to forget the struggles they go through and call them silly, but this book helped remind me that they are not and are important to them. It is important we try to relate to and understand others rather than judging them and I have worked hard to teach my children this by example. They are important and I hope that helping others feel understood can help make them feel more positive and the world a better place.

It is really fascinating what we can do if we change our brain and this book shows one facet of it, improving emotional intelligence, with the 7 keys. I will be watching this author in hopes that more books are releases in the future!

An in-depth look at empathy, rooted in scientific research. A fascinating subject and a well written easy to read book. It offers techniques to becoming more empathetic and helps to differentiate between sympathy and empathy. If you want to know more about empathy, this is a great place to start.

The author, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, shares the seven keys of her globally-renown neuroscience-based program for strengthening empathy. An important work in a world where our differences, rather than our human connectedness, are often emphasized to grave detriment. Highly recommended.

Pub Date 27 Nov 2018

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine. #TheEmpathyEffect #NetGalley

Thank you Sounds True Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

This was an easy to read, highly engaging book on a fascinating subject. I was really interested to learn more about empathy, particularly the different ways empathy can present and then differentiations between these.

If you are looking for an easy to understand, informative book without the dryness often found in books on similar subjectsm this is your book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this great book.

After reading this book, I have a better understanding of empathy, or what the author prefers to call our empathic capacity. I appreciated learning about the different components of empathy and what factors affect how our empathic capacity fluctuates over time. There was a lot of interesting information for those wanting to understand different aspects of empathy. However, I wish there had been a chapter or appendix specifically devoted to what I need to do to improve my empathy, or perhaps a section at the end of each chapter summarizing recommended actions. Dr. Reiss does present her E.M.P.A.T.H.Y. tool, and there are some tips that can be gleaned throughout the text, but this is not primarily a self-help book.

There were interesting chapters on empathy in education, empathy online, and empathy in politics, as well as some discussions of empathy in healthcare. I would like to commend the author particularly for her balanced discussion in the politics chapter (she comments on the lack of empathy shown by members of both major parties). My favorite section was probably the chapter on self-empathy.

I appreciate that Dr. Reiss provided many references for each chapter, although in the ARC I reviewed, there were no notes or citations in the text, so it was often difficult to find the relevant reference. For example, when the author stated that studies have shown “there is an inverse relationship between power and empathy,” I would have loved to see the specific citations so it would be easier for me to review those studies to learn more. That problem may have been corrected in the published version.

I would recommend this book for those with an interest in psychology or neuroscience.

I was provided an unproofed ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review. Because I have not seen the final published version, I cannot comment on the final editing and formatting.

As someone who oozes empathy (i cry a lot..commercials, books, tv shows, seeing a cute puppy that I don't get to pet) this book was particularly interesting to me on how to use empathy to your advantage. I found the EMPATHY method inherently fascinating and liked the tools and ideas for raising a child to be more empathetic. I do a lot of these on my own, and my kid is full of a lot of empathy as well so it was nice to see some reinforcement on principles that I'm often told are not useful

This book, The Empathy Effect, explores how empathy is beneficial and how to learn and use it for ourselves. I kept hearing about the power of empathy and this book gave me great insights that I want to apply right now.

Empathy is undergoing a new evolution. In a global and interconnected culture, we can no longer afford to identify only with people who seem to be a part of our “tribe.” As Dr. Helen Riess of Harvard Medical School has learned, our capacity for empathy is not just an innate trait—it is also a skill that we can learn and expand. With The Empathy Effect, the leading researcher presents a groundbreaking teaching book to help us learn essential skills for transforming the way we relate to others in any situation.

This book explores the various types of empathy and how we might actually use it in every day life. This is key to go the extra step to explain how we can use it in every day life.

There is a lot of evidence based recommendations in the book, which is unlike many self help books out there. Instead of anecdotal advice, we get something much stronger and how to truly understand a powerful tool.

The overall style of the book was smartly executed which made it more relatable to a wider audience. Thus, strengthening the overall success of the book.

Sometimes the book carried on a little too far, maybe reminding me of my next-door neighbor who is too chatty. The book grew on me and I really enjoyed the deep thought process of truly considering what empathy can do for someone.

This can be a valuable resource for professionals in helping careers, especially those like psychology, social work, education, and others.

The writing was strong and well researched although there were moments when it carried on a little long. The style did help make the book more relatable so that a wider audience could read it. I enjoyed how the author placed empathy in professional settings and showed how it could be utilized.

A little colloquial at times and chatty which was appealing at first but grew a little tiresome. However, really great information overall that is grounded in science but still maintains the humanity of empathy. It wasn't dry or inaccessible either which I really enjoyed!

A very thorough and enjoyable read that thoroughly covers many aspects of empathy, though the writing can be a bit rambling and overly conversational, which had merits – I stopped more frequently to digest the material than I would with a more structured writing style (and it took me much longer to read this book as a result).

The book begins with an overview of empathy as a term and dives deep into the neuroscience behind this hard-wired human trait. Empathy allows us to not just acknowledge/validate (sympathize) with someone else’s feelings, but to feel what they are feeling and relate to the experience of another person. The authors briefly touch on true empathy and misplaced or sham empathy, as well (ie, helicopter parents who are unable to bear any expression of perceived discomfort of their children).

Early in the book, we are presented with a 7-point tool for developing better empathy, called “E.M.P.A.T.H.Y.”

E for eye contact
M for muscle facial expression
P for posture
A for affect (emotions)
T for tone of voice
H for hearing the whole person
Y for your response

“With deep empathic listening comes an empathic response that starts on a physiological level because of our shared brain activity.”

This tool was tested out on physicians to help them better relate to patients and understand not just the “complaint” but the “concern” – resulting in greater patient satisfaction as well as more effective treatment by the physician.

The authors dive into childhood cognitive development and empathy, discuss parenting and empathy and the ways that parents provide a “mirror” to help children develop empathy and form secure attachments. Empathy in education is discussed – using as a case a “last resort” high school where staff are directed to use empathy and compassion, and failing or delinquent students are “punished” with study hall, counseling and support services. This made me consider the style of education in my experience where corporal punishment in the form of detention hall (sit straight, eyes forward, no sleeping, no eating, no talking, no moving, no studying/reading) was the first response to any infraction.

Learning and educational methods are critical for teenagers who learn best from “Project based learning” -- a great place to learn to collaborate, form relationships and absorb information by directly doing things. This leads into a discussion around the ways that new technologies – esp cell phones, Internet use – are changing our brains by developing habits that tap into primal responses and keeping us from being able to develop deeper relationships by depriving us of access to the emotional context of our interactions.

The authors also devote a substantial portion of the book to discussing the role of literature and art in providing opportunity for people to interpret and project what the artist (or subjects of the work) were thinking or feeling. “Art is incomplete without the perceptual and emotional involvement of the viewer.” Art allows (or even requires) us to move out of our own perspectives and open to other ways of perceiving or seeing the world.

“The power of art lies in its ability to stimulate both cognitive (thinking) and affective (feeling) empathy.”

From here, the authors examine leadership – and the ways that empathic leadership can change the brain chemistry of leaders and followers via an “interconnectedness of thoughts and feelings” that establishes a “social intelligence.” A good leader is pays attention to the health of her relationships with his constituents/followers and is able to create bonds that underlie a culture of trust and collaboration. Empathy is critical to this process.

There’s a bit of a ramble about the 2016 presidential election and the problems created and expressed by both major party candidates that resulted in manipulation into a false “in-group” and a sense of exclusion on either side. The remainder of the book reviews different responses to “out group” types, including homeless, the mentally ill, substance abusers, LGBTQ folks, etc.

The important takeaway here is that those times when you feel the least empathetic are critically important for you to be empathetic – and requires self-awareness, impulse control and self-examination feelings to determine what is blocking an empathic response.

Finally, there’s an entire chapter on self-empathy and mindfulness and the importance of this as a reflection on how you treat others. You treat others as you treat yourself – if you listen to the chatter in your brain (not all your thoughts are you) and have a harsh inner critic, that will result in similar approach or responses to others. From self-kindness springs empathy for others. This is an excellent lesson to keep!

Great read, being an empath myself I found this very relatable and quite interesting. It's not often a book can pick your brain apart like this one does.

A valuable resource for professionals like me who are working with a wide range of different adults and children. This book laid out a clear approach for becoming more empathetic in everyday life, whilst underlying the importance for doing so. Spending much of my time in contact with children and parents who have traumatised children, many with attachment disorders, this book is a useful additional resource when thinking about strategies and approaches for working with these individuals.

I really enjoyed The Empathy Effect. As someone with chronic illness, I see a lot of doctors. To know that someone is out there helping doctors empathizer with their patients, it lifts my heart and gives me hope that we will received betters care.
Helen Riess tells you how she does this with her E.M.P.A.T.H.Y. project. To understand her method, you have to understand empathy on a physiological. and psychological level. The book lays these out in a very easy to understand way. I didn't feel like I was slogging through a medical journal. Riess also explains how these affect our everyday life looking at relationships as well as politics. (While, she had a great position explaining how 2016 worked politically, sans Bernie Sanders, I am so sick of everything I read brining it in. I get enough of it everyday in the news and life.)
In the end, it's easy to see the technique can help anyone who works people connect with their clients or patients. I feel very positive knowing that she and others are working on making this a reality.

I mainly read this book because I have been hearing about empathy for ages and I wanted to learn more about it.

As the title promises, the author shares research backed and business proven empathy code. The seven ways to become a more empathetic person are all simple techniques that make total sense and are worth learning about. The handy acronym EMPATHY makes it easy to remember and therefore apply.

The thing that stood out for me (and probably the most important lesson I will take out of this book) is the difference between sympathy and empathy as well as the importance of 'Your Response' while being empathetic.

An easy 3.5 stars from me.

I received a free copy from Netgalley. This doesn't affect my review in any way.

Five stars! What more can I say? This book is informational, educational, rooted in scientific research and sorely needed! In a perfect world, health care professionals and educators would read this book and pass the knowledge on to their colleagues and students. As someone who has suffered empathy-burnout in the past and as a natural born advocate, I benefited greatly by reading this book. It was interesting, engaging and empowering.