Reviews
Books & Films
From Multicultural Competency to International Psychology
Case Incidents in Counseling for International Transitions By Nancy Arthur and Paul Pedersen (Eds.) Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association, 2008. 334 pp. ISBN 978-1-55620-269-8 $59.95 Reviewed by Paul T. P. Wong My immediate reaction after reading through...
Narrative Practice and Meaning-Centered Positive Psychotherapy
Maps of Narrative Practice By Michael White New York, NY: Norton, 2007. 304 pp. ISBN 978-0-393-70516-4 $25.95 Reviewed by Paul T. P. Wong Michael White has become synonymous with narrative therapy in the same way Kleenex became synonymous with facial tissue. His...
Perils and Promises in the Pursuit of Happiness
In Search of Happiness: Understanding an Endangered State of Mind by John F. Schumaker Westport, CT: Praeger, 2007. 287 pp. ISBN 978-0-2759-9456-3 $29.95 Reviewed by Paul T. P. Wong Life without happiness is like living on a parched land without rain. But what does it...
Civil Virtues, Social Capital, and Positive Community
Citizens, Cops, and Power: Recognizing the Limits of Community by Steve Herbert Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2006. 168 pp. ISBN 0-226-32730-2 (hardcover) $40.00 ISBN 0-226-32731-0 (paperback) $16.00 Review by Paul T. P. Wong It is only fair to both...
The Nature and Practice of Compassion: Integrating Western and Eastern Positive Psychologies
Compassion: Conceptualisations, Research, and Use in Psychotherapy By Paul Gilbert (Ed.) New York: Routledge, 2005. 403 pp. ISBN 1-58391-982-1 (hardcover) $90.00 ISBN 1-58391-983-X (paperback) $34.95 Reviewed by Paul T. P. Wong In a post-9/11 world that desperately...
Anatomy of Midlife Crisis: From Broken Dreams to the Quest for Meaning
Broken Flowers (2005) By Jim Jarmusch (Director) Reviewed by Paul T. P. Wong Broken Flowers is one of those unforgettable movies that seem to haunt one and make one think about one's own life. In a subdued and seductive way, it depicts the midlife crisis...
The Challenges of Experimental Existential Psychology: Terror Management or Meaning Management?
Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology By Jeff Greenberg, Sander L. Koole, and Tom Pyszczynski (Eds.) New York: Guilford Press, 2004. 528 pp. ISBN 1-59385-040-9 $65.00 Reviewed by Paul T. P. Wong Mainstream psychology sometimes loses touch with the zeitgeist....
The Meaning of Life According to David Owen Russell: Existential Psychotherapy Made Easy
I Heart Huckabees (2004) By David Owen Russell (Director) Reviewed by Paul T. P. Wong It is difficult to make sense of I Heart Huckabees. Even the title of this film threw me off at first. To say the least, I Heart Huckabees is an existential comedy quite...
Trauma Recovery and the Promises of Positive Existential Psychology
Coping With Trauma: Hope Through Understanding (2nd ed.) By Jon G. Allen Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2005. 354 pp. ISBN 1-58562-169-2 $29.95 Reviewed by Paul T. P. Wong Saturated media coverage has a way of influencing public consciousness and...