Article first published as Book Review: The Joy of Compassionate Connecting by James Prieto on Blogcritics.
The Joy of Compassionate Connecting
Jaime L. Prieto
James Prieto’s The Joy of Compassionate
Connecting is a motivating and inspiring book
that is written tenderly but seriously. Prieto
offers an innovative and completely fresh look at
some of the most important teachings of Christ
that are life-serving and nonjudgmental. One of
the ways that Prieto brings his view of
compassionate connecting is by offering the
reader some key steps to improve interpersonal
communication in some of the significant
relationships in his life.
The concept of compassionate communication
originated and was created by a famous American
Psychologist, Marshall Rosenberg. Rosenberg first
developed his theory by inviting his participants
to listen from the heart, letting go of outcomes
and judgments in order to make an empathic
connection with the individuals that they
communicated with. This framework can help people
to understand each other in a peaceful and loving
way.
The purpose of Prieto’s concept of nonviolent
communication is to improve an individual’s
ability to inspire compassion in others and to
respond compassionately in real situations,
especially when difficulties and
misunderstandings arise. This encourages us to
reframe how we speak to each other. Prieto,
encourages us to communicate with each other in
loving and compassionate ways. We should listen
to people with love and compassion by focussing
on what we are feeling and needing.
Prieto tries to appeal to Christians who want
to improve their interpersonal relationships by
learning how to communicate more compassionately.
Prieto demonstrates the teachings of Jesus which
exemplify love, mutual respect, responsibility,
and compassion.
Nonviolent communication, once mastered and
practised, will help the reader to live with
integrity with Jesus’ values of love and
compassion. This is something that we could all
benefit from in order to improve our
interpersonal relationships. Part III of the book
is devoted to this kind of practical advice.
This book will be especially relevant to
individuals who struggle to communicate in a
compassionate manner in their interpersonal
relationships. With practise and by relying on
Prieto’s suggestions, we could also turn our
troubled relationships into joy-filled
connections. It is never too late to try Prieto’s
method of compassionate connecting. I believe
that Prieto’s book may even save a few marriages,
and given the high incidence of divorce, this
book is a great contribution.
The Joy of Compassionate Connecting is a
wonderfully hopeful and inspiring book which will
be enjoyed by all readers. It doesn’t presuppose
the mastery of any difficult or esoteric
psychological language or theories and is written
with the layperson in mind.
Reviewed by Irene S. Roth
