How To Know A Person - David Brooks

The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen.

I can't recommend this enough. Brooks is easy to read and offers insights on a topic near and dear to my heart; the inability for so many of us to get beyond ourselves. How many times have we faced one-sided conversations listening to others talk about themselves without being heard or with any connection. It's been a sad observation my wife and I notice frequently and so, an instruction for our sons. (TEST: Go into a social situation and DO NOT talk about yourself....ask questions, show interest in others). Brooks looks at various aspects of this phenomenon and extends it to the social and political as a way for the personal remedy to affect the larger societal. Perhaps most helpful, he offers some tips on how we might engage others and how that engagement might enrich our own lives. Again - can't recommend enough!