"The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict" by the Arbinger Institute

I really liked this.  One thing bugged me a bit but overall the book made the kind of impact that has had me thinking a good week after finishing it.  Presented as a nonfiction work, it seeks to help people see their role in negative interactions by finding a "peaceful heart" which allows them to see others with understanding and empathy.  The lessons are right on and easy to grasp.  The format is hugely readable as it is set in the framework of a kind of group encounter -- parents spending two days working with facilitators after dropping their addicted children off at a treatment center.  The format is where the book excels and stumbles.  By putting the points into a story, a narrative, it makes it infinitely readable and, in some ways, a page turner.  The problem is, this isn't a real encounter group.  It couldn't be, given the specificity of each character's inner voice.  It may have been cobbled together from various counseling sessions but it is inherently unreal and therefore comes off feeling a bit staged.  Nonetheless it mostly worked for me.  I was going through a significantly negative event while reading it and I actually felt myself becoming calmer, breathing more deeply, just by taking it in.  Bordering on Pop Pysch without being too saccharine, there were many take-aways with lasting impact.  A short, worthwhile book.

"Bright Lights, Dark Nights" by Stephen Emond

Much like "Winter Town", another book of Mr. Emond's which I read four years back, I was kind of so-so on this.  There are two storylines.  One is a love story between Walter Wilcox and his best friend's sister, Naomi.  The other is the tale of Walter's father, a struggling divorcee cop who is accused of racial profiling.  The love story feels real.  Walter's inner voice is compelling and powerful.  The cop story feels more like something the author read about and it comes off didactic and moralistic.  As with his other book, this is clearly drawing from the author's own life.  The screaming dissonance of teens buying music CDs, Facebook use and "Instant Messaging" distracts in a tale supposedly set in the modern age.  The story is equally messy with threads which don't go anywhere.  Dad has an emotional bounce when he begins a friendship with a nice neighbor lady but it doesn't develop.  Walter's sister drifts in and out of the narrative but doesn't seem to have a purpose.  Unlike "Winter Town" the drawings don't really add to the story.  While they contribute a sense of darkness they sometimes clash with the narrative.  A picture of the high school party looks like a kid's birthday celebration, the set of the hospital looks like an elegant hotel lobby.  The characters in the artwork are mostly faceless leaving only a sense of despair and loneliness, which is odd for a love story.  In any case, it ain't bad but it ain't great.  Fans of angst will continue to enjoy the work of Stephen Emond but I'm ready to move on.