Why is revenge such a pervasive and destructive problem? How can we create a future in which revenge is less common and forgiveness is more common? Psychologist Michael McCullough argues that the key to a more forgiving, less vengeful world is to understand the evolutionary forces that gave rise to these intimately human instincts and the social forces that activate them in human minds today. Drawing on exciting breakthroughs from the social and biological sciences, McCullough dispenses surprising and practical advice for making the world a more forgiving place. Michael E. McCullough (Miami, Florida), an internationally recognized expert on forgiveness and revenge, is a professor of psychology at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where he directs the Laboratory for Social and Clinical Psychology.
Beyond Revenge is a compelling, complex story of a young woman betrayed by the man she loved. Its a riveting tale with its genesis in a quiet Amerindian village in Guyanas interior. Then it snakes its way to a stunningly dramatic conclusion, in the process embracing several genressuspense, romance, science fiction, and drama. In his fast-paced debut novel, Godfrey Wray captures the essence of storytelling and glues readers to their seats with the intriguing twists and turns that remind one of the more accomplished authors. Its a tale without the obligatory violence and mayhem that many writers in these times use to nauseating effect. A well-trained female officer in the Guyana Defence Force is sent on an international mission to New York. She is forced to abandon mission headquarters after learning of a plot to tamper with her brain cells. However, before she leaves the Big Apple, she is raped in a Brooklyn park by three men. Ruth Elizabeth Ferreira, a super athlete and scholar nurtured by a Catholic priest, exacts revenge on the three miscreants before returning to her South American homeland to deal with her duplicitous lover, who had engineered the conspiracy with his CIA counterparts. In this first book, the author displays a remarkable insight into the fiction world, skillfully embodying moving sequences based on human emotions. His racy style and refreshing narrative power immediately position him above the fray. This gale force is one the Caribbean and the wider world will be sure to welcome.
Some friendships can be murder... Arianna Jackson—AJ to her friends—has experienced enough drama in the past six months to last her a lifetime. Finding out she’s adopted and a twin to the girl she found brutally murdered and dumped in her alley being among the headliners. And, of course, there’s her sister’s killer, still pursuing her and the secret she holds, despite assurances he’s currently locked away in a secure government facility. Unfortunately, even the best of intentions prevent her from living a drama-free existence when Charlie Wilson, a frequent client of her Mischievous Malamute photography business and an old high school friend, asks her for help after being arrested for a heinous crime he insists he didn’t commit. Sure, Charlie may be arrogant and self-centered, but in AJ’s book, being a jerk doesn’t necessarily mean he’s guilty—not of this crime, anyway. AJ quickly realizes her old pal may not be as innocent as she’d originally been led to believe when he produces a sketchy alibi and is less than forthcoming about a series of missing hours the day of the crime. Still, with or without Charlie’s assistance, she’s determined to find the truth, wherever it leads. Armed with her Alaskan Malamute, Nicoh, and best friend, Leah Campbell, AJ searches for shreds of evidence to prove Charlie’s innocence. But the harder they look, the greater the roadblocks they encounter as it becomes apparent Charlie isn’t the only one with secrets to hide and demons to bury. In fact, much more may be at stake, including the bonds of friendship. In a world that walks the tightrope of good versus evil while nudging the boundaries of black versus white, there are always shades of grey—where the truth you seek isn’t always the one you find. Sometimes the demons that haunt us are resurrected for something greater than revealing the truth. Sometimes the reasons go beyond vengeance...beyond retribution...beyond revenge.
We are in trouble. Our social, financial, and religious institutions are crumbling. Our criminal justice system is a prime example of society’s dysfunction.More than 1 in 100 Americans are now in jail.Taxes now finance the incarceration of 1 in 53 of adults in their 20s.There are now 2.3 million people locked up in the U.S. (the same number of prisoners in Russia and China combined).The U.S. accounts for 5 percent of the world’s population--and 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. What courtroom veteran and law professor Sylvia Clute saw on a daily basis was all too often the miscarriage of justice. Because of her legal background, Clute focuses on legal horror stories to demonstrate her underlying thesis: The crisis in our legal system is merely symptomatic of a rot found in each of our institutions. It is rooted in a philosophy of dualism that pits us against one another. It is rooted in a philosophy that fails to recognize the oneness or unity of all life. Clute unfolds her argument for applying the philosophy of non-duality to not only our criminal justice system, but to all social relationships. She explores the roots of dualist thinking in the religious traditions of the world and offers the hope that if individuals--and societies--can move beyond dualistic thinking, we will create a society that is truly just and authentically caring. Part social policy, part metaphysics, this is a book for all who are looking for a new model for individual and societal relationships.
Publisher's description: Beyond Vengeance and Protest takes a fresh look at the Book of Revelation from the point of view of blessing. If John wrote Revelation to tell the Christian communities that he had seen the Lord and to encourage them to persevere, the macarisms underscore his conviction of God's vindication of the righteous who suffer now. With the sevenfold macarisms expressing hope in God's grace, John lays grounds for action by positing the good for which the contrary must be rejected.
"My brother got mixed up with a crime lord and lost everything he had, including his life. And now I have to pay his debt. All I have is twenty bucks in my pocket and the clothes on my back. The bank took the house, and my last living relative was murdered. Knuckles threatened to torture me if I ran. He's counting down the days until he'll claim me, making me treasure my final days of freedom ... The greatest lingerie designer in the world is looking for new talent for Barsetti Lingerie. I'm not exactly model material, but maybe I can get a job doing something--and get paid under the table"--Back cover.
Responding Right When You've Been Wronged We all know what it’s like to be lied to, cheated, tricked, or swindled. Whether you want revenge or to protect yourself from future harm, Phil Waldrep understands your pain. Waldrep had no idea of the steep journey that lay ahead of him when two men walked into his office and revealed an unfolding story of a friend turned colleague who was living what amounted to a second life. For years following, Waldrep sought to heal the wounds of this broken relationship and confront the pain he felt in the aftermath of this betrayal. Along the way, he discovered God’s solutions to overcoming resentment. In Beyond Betrayal, you’ll learn about the biblical principles and practical tools that can help you identify betrayers in your life and name the pain you feel rediscover God as the healer of your wounds avoid bitterness and express your anger in healthy ways learn to remain open to trusting others again as you build new relationships choose forgiveness and develop strategies to prevent future betrayal Whether you’ve been hurt by a family member, friend, colleague, or trusted leader, you are not alone. Even Jesus was betrayed. You don’t have to let past hurts limit your future relationships—you can move beyond betrayal.
At a time when the numbers of emerging infections and antibiotic-resistant bacteria are rising sharply, the supply of new antibiotic drugs has been steadily decreasing. In addition, many health providers have failed to consider that our bodies are cloaked in a blanket of bacteria so pervasive that the bacterial cells outnumber our “human” cells by a factor of ten. In short, we are living in a microbe’s world and cannot ignore the very real potential for untreatable serious infections. In this timely book, Dr. Michael Schmidt proposes we focus on strengthening ourselves by thinking of our bodies as a “human-microbe hybrid.” This requires taking action to raise our defenses, while preserving the integrity of the microbial elements that live on and within us. Drawing on the latest research from several scientific fields, Schmidt presents a strategy of medicine that can be used to build and balance our system of immune defense and repair. He offers a set of general recommendations that can easily be used to tailor programs to individuals seeking to support health maintenance, prevent illness, fight active acute or chronic infections, and foster faster recovery from infections.
We call it justice—the assassination of Osama bin Laden, the incarceration of corrupt politicians or financiers like Rod Blagojevich and Bernard Madoff, and the climactic slaying of cinema-screen villains by superheroes. But could we not also call it revenge? We are told that revenge is uncivilized and immoral, an impulse that individuals and societies should actively repress and replace with the order and codes of courtroom justice. What, if anything, distinguishes punishment at the hands of the government from a victim’s individual desire for retribution? Are vengeance and justice really so very different? No, answers legal scholar and novelist Thane Rosenbaum in Payback: The Case for Revenge—revenge is, in fact, indistinguishable from justice. Revenge, Rosenbaum argues, is not the problem. It is, in fact, a perfectly healthy emotion. Instead, the problem is the inadequacy of lawful outlets through which to express it. He mounts a case for legal systems to punish the guilty commensurate with their crimes as part of a societal moral duty to satisfy the needs of victims to feel avenged. Indeed, the legal system would better serve the public if it gave victims the sense that vengeance was being done on their behalf. Drawing on a wide range of support, from recent studies in behavioral psychology and neuroeconomics, to stories of vengeance and justice denied, to revenge practices from around the world, to the way in which revenge tales have permeated popular culture—including Hamlet, The Godfather, and Braveheart—Rosenbaum demonstrates that vengeance needs to be more openly and honestly discussed and lawfully practiced. Fiercely argued and highly engaging, Payback is a provocative and eye-opening cultural tour of revenge and its rewards—from Shakespeare to The Sopranos. It liberates revenge from its social stigma and proves that vengeance is indeed ours, a perfectly human and acceptable response to moral injury. Rosenbaum deftly persuades us to reconsider a misunderstood subject and, along the way, reinvigorates the debate on the shape of justice in the modern world.
"It's not just Murakami but also the shadow of Borges that hovers over this mesmerizing book... [and] one may detect a slight bow to the American macabre of E.A. Poe. Ogawa stands on the shoulders of giants, as another saying goes. But this collection may linger in your mind -- it does in mine -- as a delicious, perplexing, absorbing and somehow singular experience." -- Alan Cheuse, NPR Sinister forces collide---and unite a host of desperate characters---in this eerie cycle of interwoven tales from Yoko Ogawa, the critically acclaimed author of The Housekeeper and the Professor. An aspiring writer moves into a new apartment and discovers that her landlady has murdered her husband. Elsewhere, an accomplished surgeon is approached by a cabaret singer, whose beautiful appearance belies the grotesque condition of her heart. And while the surgeon's jealous lover vows to kill him, a violent envy also stirs in the soul of a lonely craftsman. Desire meets with impulse and erupts, attracting the attention of the surgeon's neighbor---who is drawn to a decaying residence that is now home to instruments of human torture. Murderers and mourners, mothers and children, lovers and innocent bystanders---their fates converge in an ominous and darkly beautiful web. Yoko Ogawa's Revenge is a master class in the macabre that will haunt you to the last page. An NPR Best Book of 2013
