# if it talks like a therapist...

I'm envious of therapists.

After years of study and practice, many develop an uncanny ability to evoke and
listen.

They speak fearlessly but fairly. They're strong, yet nonthreatening. They push
back while maintaining peace.

I yearn for this powerless power.

I want to listen without planning my next sentences. I want to hear stories
uncolored by my opinions.

I want to help people feel safe enough to prod all their heart's hidden
chambers.

I want to be unafraid of others' emotions. I want to bravely wade through the
full gamut of the soul.

[I, I, I...](https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/56502/how-do-you-spell-aye-yai-yai)

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## Resources

The current literature is, uh, variable in quality. Some is too academic, some
too pithy, some too wishy-washy. I usually enjoy guides that are dense,
falsifiable, and opinionated.

If you have any resources/recommendations on the "powerless people power",
please [email me](mailto:hello@taylor.town) and I'll add it to the list:

- [_Atlas of the Heart_ by Brené Brown](https://bookshop.org/p/books/atlas-of-the-heart-mapping-meaningful-connection-and-the-language-of-human-experience-brene-brown/17210802?ean=9780399592553):
  An encyclopedia of emotions. Accentuates all the nuance of the human
  experience.
- [_This is Water_ by David Foster Wallace](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbGM4mqEVw):
  A short speech about living and listening from one of the greatest
  contemporary authors.
- [_Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents_ by Lindsay Gibson](https://bookshop.org/p/books/adult-children-of-emotionally-immature-parents-lib-e-how-to-heal-from-distant-rejecting-or-self-involved-parents-lindsay-c-gibson/16712089?ean=9781626251700):
  Solid framework for understanding and relating to familial trauma.
- [_Lying_ by Sam Harris](https://bookshop.org/p/books/lying-sam-harris/10629392?ean=9781940051000):
  The definitive work on honesty from a very controversial figure.
- [_How to Win Friends and Influence People_ by Dale Carnegie](https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people-dale-carnegie/7496534?ean=9780671027032):
  The basic, commonsense people stuff they should've taught you in elementary
  school but didn't.
- [_The Inner Game of Tennis_ W. Timothy Galleway](https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-inner-game-of-tennis-the-classic-guide-to-the-mental-side-of-peak-performance-w-timothy-gallwey/6724159?ean=9780679778318):
  A unique book about coaching, meditation, observation, and asking good
  questions.