Eleven Conversations on Empathy

and some GREAT recommendations!

Dear readers,

The past week has been very busy and very exciting because of the launch of new book, Imagining Our Neighbors as Ourselves: How Art Shapes Empathy! As many of you know, I celebrated my book launch on April 19th by having eleven online conversations about empathy with artists, professors, writers, and pastors.

Last night, I had my first in-person book lecture in Chattanooga! It was a delight to talk about the book’s content, sign books, and see many old friends. If you have not yet ordered the book, I recommend that you order it from the wonderful Byron Borger at Hearts and Minds Bookstore! He has written a lovely review, and he will give you 20% off of any of the books mentioned in it (including mine!).

I love seeing photos of people receiving, reading, and/or holding up their books! One of the most fun ones has been from Dr. Elissa Weichbrodt, Art History professor at Covenant College, who dressed to match the book cover!

The main focus of this week’s newsletter is the sharing of eleven launch day conversation videos. I also want to share a lovely list of art recommendations from those who contributed to the day. I asked each of my conversation partners to choose one work of art that has increased their own capacity for empathy.

In the list below, you can click on the person’s name to see my launch day conversation with them. After their name, you will find their empathetic art recommendation(s):

Karen Swallow Prior: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (novel)

Claude Atcho: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (novel)

Douglas Coupland: Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson (short story collection), 2001: A Space Odyssey (film)

Andrew Tate: Seasonal Quartet Series by Ali Smith (novel series)

Joe Kickasola: Sound of Metal (film)

Tyler Burns: Everything Everywhere All at Once (film)

Makoto Fujimura: Silence by Shusako Endo, The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

Steve Garber: The Chosen by Chaim Potok (novel), The Prophets by Abraham Heschel (nonfiction)

Bekah Mason: Pose (television series)

Ken and Gail Heffner: Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens (album), Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (novel), This is Us (television series)

Byron and Beth Borger: Call the Midwife (television series), The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (YA novel), Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayari (novel)

Joy Clarkson: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (novel)

Thanks for reading!

Mary