Book Review - The Joy of Compassionate Connecting

About the BookJames Prieto is the author of The Joy of Compassionate Connecting – The Way of Christ through Nonviolent Communication. His mission is to facilitate communication and contribute to deepening relationships between people, within groups and organizations, through the practice of Nonviolent Communication (NVC).

Nonviolent Communication, also known as Compassionate Communication, was created by famed American psychologist Marshall Rosenberg.  It is a conversational framework that invites listening from the heart, encouraging a letting-go of outcomes and judgments for the sake of connection, helping people understand each other peacefully. The purpose of NVC is to strengthen our ability to inspire compassion in others and to respond compassionately to others and to ourselves.   It guides us to reframe how we express ourselves, as well as how we hear others, by focusing on what we are observing, feeling, needing and requesting.

Appealing to Christians (or anyone with a desire to improve relationships through better communication), Prieto’s book describes the Way of Christ through Nonviolent Communication, demonstrating how the teachings of Jesus exemplify values of love, mutual respect, responsibility and compassion.  This text is a guide showing how NVC facilitates living in integrity with these values – something politicians and corporate America could definitely benefit from in today’s society.

The Joy of Compassionate Connecting is packed with personal stories that demonstrate how a follower of Christ can incorporate NVC to turn troubled relationships into joy-filled connections.  It is an invitation for readers to rediscover Christian principles, showing that by applying them in everyday communication the reader can get to experience the treasures Jesus taught us by transforming our relationships with compassionate connecting, ultimately partaking in the spirit-filled life.
James Prieto is a software developer for a consulting company in southern California.  Raised a Catholic, baptized a Christian in the Pacific Ocean in 2003, he is passionate about his spiritual journey in connection with the Creator and others, and continues to follow the Way of Christ in his everyday life.  Discovering NVC in 2002, he has immersed himself in it ever since –pursuing ways to contribute to peace and help others build fulfilling relationships through his writing, practice groups and workshops.
For more information, please visit www.compassionateconnecting.com.

My Take on the Book
I did not know what to expect in this book when I received it,  but after reading through a number of the chapters, I have to say that the book is a great combination of practical wisdom from Scripture and many other fields.  What I liked was that the book went deep and asked questions to make you think deeper about your own connection to nonviolent communication.

At the end of each chapter, the author provides discussion questions to help the reader organize his or her thoughts around the books' emotional and intellectual content. The book is actually written to promote discussion and I could easily see a group of people taking the book and using it to start having quality dialogue regarding nonviolent communication. 

For me, there were a few areas that referenced wikipedia, and being a person that relies on quality research, I tend not to always appreciate references to this type of online reference, but other than that I was quite impressed and know that other readers will be as well.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions. 

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