From birth, when babies' fingers instinctively cling to those of adults, their bodies and brains seek an intimate connection, a bond made possible by empathy-the ability to love and to share the feelings of others. In this provocative book, renowned child psychiatrist Bruce D. Perry and award-winning science journalist Maia Szalavitz interweave research and stories from Perry's practice with cutting-edge scientific studies and historical examples to explain how empathy develops, why it is essential for our development into healthy adults, and how it is threatened in the modern world. Perry and Szalavitz show that compassion underlies the qualities that make society work- trust, altruism, collaboration, love, charity-and how difficulties related to empathy are key factors in social problems such as war, crime, racism, and mental illness. Even physical health, from infectious diseases to heart attacks, is deeply affected by our human connections to one another.
As Born for Love reveals, recent changes in technology, child-rearing practices, education, and lifestyles are starting to rob children of necessary human contact and deep relationships-the essential foundation for empathy and a caring, healthy society. Sounding an important warning bell, "Born for Love" offers practical ideas for combating the negative influences of modern life and fostering positive social change to benefit us all.
- ISBN10 0061656798
- ISBN13 9780061656798
- Publish Date 5 May 2011 (first published 6 April 2010)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc
- Imprint William Morrow Paperbacks
- Format Paperback
- Pages 384
- Language English