“When an individual puts great effort into a project, such as a career, a work of art, or a relationship, it is commonly stated that they “poured their soul” into it. Nowhere would that phrase be more appropriate than to describe Dr. Craig Piso’s book, Healthy Power. He has taken loving care to present ideas clearly and in a well-organized fashion with the goal of helping self- examining adults build and maintain their core strengths for the benefit of themselves and others.
The central theme is that all of us can make choices that will draw us away from Unhealthy Power and toward Healthy Power, which is value-driven and benefits ourselves and others. He has organized his concepts using the acronym POWERFUL (P = Personal Responsibility; O = Optimistic Expectations; etc.) to describe steps that readers need to take to ensure Healthy Power. Each of these positive steps is contrasted with its unhealthy opposite, for example the opposite of Personal Responsibility is Personal Irresponsibility.
In his opening sentence Dr. Piso states that “I realize that I have been writing this book for my entire life.” Indeed, that statement rings true throughout this book. He poured his soul into this work of art by generously sharing his life experiences both from his career as a psychologist as well as his personal relationships, and adding depth with examples from a wide range of areas, such as scientific psychology, religion, or history. Each chapter ends with pearls of wisdom or brief and memorable quotations that supplement the points raised in the text. The Appendices section contains useful worksheets. Any self-examining adult, no matter how well educated they are through education or life experiences, is sure to find something of value in these pages.”
