The Power of Kindness by Dr. Brian Goldman is the first book I've listened to by the author. It is narrated by the author himself. He did a great job with the narration. It was clear and engaging. The book talks a lot about incidents and important events that happened in the past. He traveled to places for his research about empathy. He even made himself an example. Dr. Goldman is in the healthcare industry and I got a good glimpse of how people are greatly affected by their profession on how they either become more empathetic or gradually lose empathy because of what the job entails.

The only thing I didn't like about the book is it focused more on narrating the events than the application of those events on the Power of Kindness or how empathy helps us in our day to day lives. It may sound so simple. Be kind. But there is definitely a thin line on being kind and being gullible. Or giving yourself too much to the point of burnout or resentment. I wish the author had explained more the application of the events he gave as examples to his kindness/empathy research. Decipher the events he used as examples in his research on the Power of Kindness.

I'm not new to this subject because I'm a big fan of Brene Brown. If you wanted a clearer picture about empathy, I would also suggest you also listen to her work. She did a great job in laying out all the results and conclusions of her research.

I recommend this book to people who wanted to understand how kindness/empathy makes a big difference in other people's lives. It also positively affects the person giving the kindness/empathy towards others. The book has some scientific research with lots of relevant examples, particularly the 9/11 attacks.

Thank you to Netgalley, publisher Bespeak Audio Editions, and author Dr. Brian Goldman for granting early access to the audiobook. All reviews are honest, voluntary, and my own.

The Power of Kindness: Why Empathy is Essential in Everyday Life </i> by Dr. Brian Goldman, chronicles the journey of a veteran emergency room physician, as he searches for empathy in those around him and, ultimately, himself.

I found this book to be an enlightening and inspiring read that expanded my knowledge of the various concepts related to empathy and kindness (ex. emotional empathy, cognitive empathy, and effective concern). The book highlighted the stories of many empathetic individuals who are revolutionizing their respective fields. Some of these stories include those of a Tim Horton's manager who credits his business success to his employment of those with disabilities, individuals using virtual reality technology to bring awareness to social issues such as Syrian refugees and the lasting impact of Indigenous residential schools, and healthcare professionals transforming the way seniors with dementia are treated using validation therapy.

The book was engaging and enjoyable to have read by Dr. Brian Goldman. The way in which he told his stories left me captivated. However, I found that the book did not meet the expectations that I had, as a reader, after viewing the cover and reading the book summary. I learned about how complex the concept of empathy can be, and how difficult it is to quantify. I was inspired by the stories of individuals who have let their empathy play a pivotal role in their lives, but I felt that the book highlighted the stories of extraordinary individuals and did not really address why empathy is essential to everyday life or how the average individual can foster that kind of behaviour. Overall, it was an excellent book, I just don't believe the book was marketed in a way that highlighted its many strengths.

I would like to thank NetGalley and ECW Press for my copy of this audiobook.

This book is a collection of stories/ events encountered by Dr. Goldman around the theme of Kindness and empathy. The stories are interesting and intriguing. It would have been more interesting if Dr. Goldman related more stories from the ER. Thank you to NetGalley and Bespeak Audio Editions for giving me this opportunity to listen to and review this book. #NetGalley, #BespeakAudioEditions

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
I enjoyed this book . Brian Goldman started out talking about my favorite subject...empathy and the brain. He broke it down to 3 different types of empathy, 1. Emotional empathy which people if they so have it...its encoded in their DNA. Psychopaths so not have Emotional empathy...but do have the 2nd kind 2. Cognitive empathy Psychopaths need to know if your afraid because that fear is what feeds them.
3. Affective concern is a situation where a firefighter might go into a burning building with no concern of his own safety but focus on safety of others.
The rest of the book was examples of people who were so very kind to others and made a huge impact on their lives. This was a very uplifting positive book.

💫 Book review 💫 ⁣
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 by 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘯 ⁣
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Not everyone will enjoy this. It’s definitely one that I listened to as a podcast and to learn more about myself. I’m forever a student. Learning with each book.⁣
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The first takeaway: Sympathy is different from Empathy. And the different kinds of empathy:⁣
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𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲: feel emotions of others . Which is baked in the DNA. It’s what motivates us to help others. ⁣
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𝐂𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲: perspective taking. The ability to see something from that persons ⁣
perspective. I venture into assuming a lot of bibliophiles are in this category. It’s why we push ourselves to read anything: even stuff out of our comfort zone or books that hold triggering events in our own lives. ⁣
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𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧: This is the motivation that you find teachers and firefighters in. Doctors could he lumped into here. Clearly I’m generalizing as not every profession has the same personality in it. But I think for the majority.. what makes a fireman walk into a fire when it’s not his or her family inside. Doctors scrambling to find cures for someone who shows up in their ER. ⁣
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I find myself enjoying hearing some positives stories around the globe as the author introduces people who have shown kindness to others without expecting anything in return. One of my top stories was actually about a Tim hortons owner who hires young adults/adults who would have been deemed challenged somehow in the past but ended up being his strongest workers. ⁣
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The stories will make your heart grow when all we hear is negative these days. Ps. Enjoyed the audiobook version. It “reads” like a podcast you can pick up whenever