Night Call
Embracing Compassion and Hope in a Troubled World
Published on 16. November 2017
Book
Hardback
280 pages
978-0-19-066963-8 (ISBN)
Description
Caring for our family members, friends, and others is a central part of a rewarding life. For those in healing and helping professions such as medicine, nursing, education, psychotherapy, social work, ministry, and the military, the potential for a meaningful way of being may even become more possible. But, compassion is not easy. At times, concern for others can be personally devastating when we don't possess the right attitude and approach. Reaching out (and reflectively within) without being pulled down requires the wisdom that only arises out of the right combination of humility and knowledge.
Night Call offers the stories and principles gleaned over many years of writing and mentoring for those in the helping and healing professions. The stories are offered in ways that foster compassionate caring while encouraging initiative in those who seek to personally deepen and share their lives with others -- especially in times of significant need. With this in mind, Dr. Wicks presents information on:
? being a healing presence
? mining fruits of the failures all of us must experience at times
? the need to enjoy the daily "crumbs of alonetime"
? the importance of a spirit of "unlearning"
? developing a simple realistic self-care program
? valuing informal or formal mentoring
? recognizing the "3 calls" to which we must respond to as we psychologically develop
? honoring life's most elusive psychological virtue (humility)
Purposely brief, the chapters, as well as the sections in the "personal resiliency retreat" section at the end of the book, have as their goal a reconsideration of values, signature strengths, and simple approaches to living a resilient, rewarding life. Rather than presenting new breakthroughs, Night Call is designed to dust off what most of us already know, at some level, so we can freshly view the key approaches and techniques that provide increased psychological self-awareness and a potentially healthier sense of presence to others. The themes offered may have been forgotten, or become undervalued/set aside because of some of society's dysfunctional norms or unhelpful family influences. In response, this simple, countercultural book combines the value of essential self-compassion with caring for others in ways that provide the impetus for further exploration of a fuller narrative for both the readers of this work and unforeseen opportunities as well for those who are fortunate enough to cross their paths.
Night Call offers the stories and principles gleaned over many years of writing and mentoring for those in the helping and healing professions. The stories are offered in ways that foster compassionate caring while encouraging initiative in those who seek to personally deepen and share their lives with others -- especially in times of significant need. With this in mind, Dr. Wicks presents information on:
? being a healing presence
? mining fruits of the failures all of us must experience at times
? the need to enjoy the daily "crumbs of alonetime"
? the importance of a spirit of "unlearning"
? developing a simple realistic self-care program
? valuing informal or formal mentoring
? recognizing the "3 calls" to which we must respond to as we psychologically develop
? honoring life's most elusive psychological virtue (humility)
Purposely brief, the chapters, as well as the sections in the "personal resiliency retreat" section at the end of the book, have as their goal a reconsideration of values, signature strengths, and simple approaches to living a resilient, rewarding life. Rather than presenting new breakthroughs, Night Call is designed to dust off what most of us already know, at some level, so we can freshly view the key approaches and techniques that provide increased psychological self-awareness and a potentially healthier sense of presence to others. The themes offered may have been forgotten, or become undervalued/set aside because of some of society's dysfunctional norms or unhelpful family influences. In response, this simple, countercultural book combines the value of essential self-compassion with caring for others in ways that provide the impetus for further exploration of a fuller narrative for both the readers of this work and unforeseen opportunities as well for those who are fortunate enough to cross their paths.
Reviews / Votes
Night Call is a valuable guide for people who wonder how to help those who suffer and for people worn down by the seemingly endless sickness of those they care for. With stories and words of wisdom, Wicks shows how persistence, compassion and humility heal us all. His book is a great salve.Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Robert Wicks, a renowned psychologist and specialist in the area of resilience, has written a truly impressive book. In sharing experiences from his own personal and professional life, he has provided remarkable insights about taking care of others while making certain we also engage in self-compassion and self-care in order to avoid disillusionment and burnout. Robert's openness, empathy, and wisdom are apparent on each page as he highlights realistic principles for living a purposeful and meaningful life-a life in which we touch the hearts and souls of others while recognizing the importance of maintaining our own balance and resilience. This is one of those rare works that can serve as a wonderful resource for anyone who has the responsibility for caring for another person while at the same time being relevant for those of us in the helping and healing professions.
Robert Brooks, PhD
Faculty, Harvard Medical School
Co-author of The Power of Resilience Night Call provides an important wake-up call for those of us in health care. Robert Wicks raises our awareness of the importance of tending to our inner peace and resiliency as he states "you can't share what you don't have." The book identifies the need for finding a reflective space and alone time and guides us how to "lean back and reflect." Caring is core to the practice discipline of nursing and this book reminds us that in order to maintain a compassionate presence with our patients and families, we must take the time to care for ourselves. For nurses in academia, the triparte mission of clinical practice, teaching and research can be incredibly synergistic and rewarding yet challenging and exhausting at times. Dr. Wicks gives us tips on how to mentally manage our work, maintain a healthy perspective between work and family and identifies the value of mentors throughout our careers.
M. Tish Knobf, PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor
Yale University School of Nursing Robert Wicks not only makes me look at my inner self - my goals, my positive and negative thoughts about my work - but also how I can value and learn from the "negative." This book gently and comprehensively leads those reaching out to others in their circle of family and friends, as well as healing and helping professionals, to a heightened sensitivity to the needs of the people they serve-in my case, the ill, dying persons, their caregivers, and the bereaved.
J. Shep Jeffreys, EdD, Fellow in Thanatology
Psychiatry Faculty
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Author, Helping Grieving People: When Tears Are Not Enough Night Call by Robert Wicks, helps caregivers to slow down, to pay as much attention to themselves and their own needs as they do the needs of those they are serving. Many books will advocate for self-care, but Dr. Wicks shows you how to do it. The conversational tone and lack of psychological jargon can be deceptive. The book is easy to read but filled with seasoned wisdom. A splendid book not only for health-caregivers but also for clergy, for family caregivers and anyone whose focus is on serving the lives of those they love.
Deborah van Dusen Hunsinger, PhD
Charles W. Newcombe Professor of Pastoral Theology
Princeton Theological Seminary
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 211 mm
Width: 142 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
408 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-066963-8 (9780190669638)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2017
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€9.99
Available for download
E-Book
09/2017
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€9.99
Available for download
Person
Robert J. Wicks, PsyD, received his doctorate in psychology from Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital and is Professor Emeritus, Loyola University Maryland. He has published more than 50 books for professionals and the general public, including Perspective: The Calm within the Storm (Oxford, 2014); Bounce: Living the Resilient Life (Oxford, 2010); and Riding the Dragon. Dr. Wicks has lectured on the importance of resilience, self-care, and maintaining a healthy perspective in Hanoi, Beijing, Port au Prince, Johannesburg, Phnom Penh, and Budapest as well as at the Mayo Clinic, Harvard's Children's Hospital and Harvard Divinity School, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the U.S. Air Force Academy, on Capitol Hill to Members of Congress and their Chiefs of Staff and most recently in Beirut to persons living and working in Aleppo, Syria. He has also served on the faculty of Bryn Mawr College's Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research.
Content
Prologue: Hearing the Whispers of a Resilient, Compassionate Life
Chapter 1. "Come Sit by Me"
Chapeter 2. Mining the Fruits of Personal Failure
Chapter 3. From a Healthy Distance
Chapter 4. Removing the Psychological Cataracts
Chapter 5. Profile of a Future Mentor
Chapter 6. Simplicity of Serious Self-Care
Chapter 7. Embarking on the 3 Essential Inner Journeys
Chapter 8. Releasing: A Leap into the Darkness
Chapter 9. The Elusive Virtue
Epilogue: Hearing the Whispers of a Rewarding Life
Appendix I: Reaching Out (and Within)... Without Being Pulled Down: A Personal Weekday Resiliency Retreat
Reading Further on Resiliency and Compassion: Books for a General Readership and Professional Caregivers
Chapter 1. "Come Sit by Me"
Chapeter 2. Mining the Fruits of Personal Failure
Chapter 3. From a Healthy Distance
Chapter 4. Removing the Psychological Cataracts
Chapter 5. Profile of a Future Mentor
Chapter 6. Simplicity of Serious Self-Care
Chapter 7. Embarking on the 3 Essential Inner Journeys
Chapter 8. Releasing: A Leap into the Darkness
Chapter 9. The Elusive Virtue
Epilogue: Hearing the Whispers of a Rewarding Life
Appendix I: Reaching Out (and Within)... Without Being Pulled Down: A Personal Weekday Resiliency Retreat
Reading Further on Resiliency and Compassion: Books for a General Readership and Professional Caregivers