Tuesday, September 05, 2023

Words of Power

by Ellis Amdur

I picked up this one at a seminar. (I've been doing a lot of seminars with the new position, so I forget what that one was about.) The sponsors were handing out books and I grabbed it for my office library. Well, it might be more accurate to say that the two books I grabbed established my office library. Anyway, Words of Power is a guide to de-escalation. It's written to help folks recognize when another person's anger is escalating, understand what's going on physically and mentally with that person, and then how to try and help them get to a calmer state. This particular volume is geared toward the generic person--Mr. Amdur has a number of other books on this same topic, geared toward folks in particular professions. I found the book to be easy to read and understand, fascinating and helpful. I have received de-escalation training from my employer, so some of the book was a review of things I've already learned. But my training didn't go into the physiological and emotional processes that a person goes through when experiencing anger and aggression. I think that knowledge will be helpful the next time I have to deal with an angry guest. If nothing else, it will help me maintain self-control if I understand what's going on with the other person. 

Glad to have it on my shelf.
LibraryThing link

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// posted by John @ 8:43 AM 0 Comments

Friday, September 01, 2023

The Sound of God Breathing

by Don Schatz

This one is a book on grieving. I didn't buy it because I'm grieving myself, but because the author is a member of my congregation. Don lost his wife to cancer a while back. While going through his grief, he wrote. He eventually shared his musings with others who recommended that he turn his manuscript into a book. 

In The Sound of God Breathing, Pastor Schatz explores the thoughts and emotions that buffeted him as he mourned his wife. He intersperses his thoughts with Bible passages, exploring what those passages mean while in the midst of grief and how one lives those concepts in the midst of loss. The book is written for someone who is experiencing their own grief. I didn't fit in that category, so I was reading this more as an intellectual exercise. I still found it worth reading. It added insight to the biblical verses quoted, as well as giving me some warning about what I might expect should I (God forbid) lose my own wife or children. 

Check it out!
LibraryThing link

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// posted by John @ 8:06 AM 0 Comments

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