Choose Compassion: Why It Matters and How It Works (2022) by James Kirby. University of Queensland Press. ISBN: 9780702265648

One of Australia’s leading compassion researchers, Dr. James Kirby employs science and real-world cases to argue that compassion is the most important human motivation to harness in today’s world. Citing the benefits of compassion training exercises for life struggles including self-criticism, shame, grief, parenting, depression, and anxiety, Kirby draws on findings from the University of Queensland’s Compassionate Mind Research Group, of which he is co-director. Debunking the myth that compassion is a soft or weak emotion, he examines fears, blocks, and resistances we and our clients may have to compassion, which he defines as the courageous and wise motivation to turn towards suffering and try to alleviate it. Reviewer Prof. Paul Gilbert, who developed compassion focused therapy, applauds how Choose Compassion: Why it matters and how it works (Kirby, 2022) takes on big themes, such as the inevitability of suffering and loss, and makes them understandable and accessible to readers. Despite climate change, mass extinctions, genocide, wars, and the capacity of humans to be callous and contradictory, Kirby’s message is ultimately one of hope.