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Ethical Wisdom
What Makes Us Good

Greed, corruption, terrorism: these are the headlines of today, and the call to do the right thing has never been louder.
Now Mark Matousek analyzes what makes us good. Why does one CEO fire 2,000 people and walk away with a $5 million dollar bonus, while another takes that same bonus and spreads it among those who’ve lost their jobs? In Ethical Wisdom, Matousek weaves together ideas from cognitive psychology, philosophy, anthropology, and evolutionary biology to explain why human beings choose (or not) to do the right thing. No book could be more timely or more timeless. Full of compelling anecdotes from every culture and every country, particularly our own, Ethical Wisdom explores questions such as: What does being good really mean? Which parts of morality are biological, which ethical? When should instinct be trusted and when does it lead us into trouble? Matousek sheds light on many of our behaviors, including why we overestimate our virtue and underestimate the power of situations to bring out our Mr. Hyde, and why we allow ourselves to cheat. Do you yawn easily when seeing others yawn? If you do, you may be surprised to learn that you're more likely to do the right thing in a morally compromising situation. Drawing on the latest scientific research and interviews with social scientists, spiritual leaders, ex-cons, altruists, and philosophers, Ethical Wisdom is an insightful and important book for readers criss-crossing their own murky moral terrain.

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When You're Falling, Dive
Lessons in the Art of Living

Do survivors of life’s greatest trials possess a secret knowledge? Why do some people blossom through adversity while others fall apart? What mysterious power gets us back on our feet after we’ve been knocked down. The answer: viriditas, the power of drawing passion, beauty, and wisdom from the unlikeliest places.
   In When You’re Falling, Dive, the author examines this remarkable phenomenon. Seeking advice from well known survivors such as Joan Didion, Elie Wiesel and Isabel Allende, as well as philosophical experts like Eckhart Tolle, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Sogyal Rinpoche, he brings twenty-five years of personal experience to the paradoxical question of how disaster can be used to awaken and transform us.
   From a Sudanese boy slave kidnapped at the age of seven, to a Tibetan nun imprisoned by Chinese militia, to the heroic women of Calama, Chile, who continued digging for their “disappeared” relatives following Pinochet’s Caravan of Death, Matousek sifts through extraordinary testimonials – as well as recent breakthroughs in neuroscience – to demonstrate that we are, in fact, hardwired to evolve and adapt when faced with the impossible. It is humbling yet inspiring to be reminded that in our frailty rests the key our greatest strength.
 

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The Boy He Left Behind
A Man's Search for His Lost Father

    In this extraordinary real-life detective story, the author takes us on a search for the father who abandoned him – a journey that will change the course of his life forever. An exploration of morality and identity, The Boy He Left Behind is about coming to terms with the uncertainties of life, the tenacious bonds of family, and the high, sometimes heartbreaking, cost of love.

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Sex Death Enlightenment

   “It’s hard to know when you’re having a breakdown in New York City. The symptoms of living here, succeeding here, and losing your mind here are almost identical.” So begins the author’s 1996 breakout memoir about leaving a fast-track publishing life (working for pop artist Andy Warhol at Interview Magazine), after friends begin succumbing to AIDS, and hitting the dharma trail in search of a spiritual life. A “brave, beautiful, and brilliantly observed” work (according to Publisher’s Weekly), Sex Death Enlightenment takes the reader on a rollicking, insightful ride of self-discovery and revelation.

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Dialogues with a Modern Mystic

  In this riveting series of conversations, modeled on the Sufi tradition of sohbet (literally the spiritual talk of friends), Mark Matousek and Andrew Harvey touch on a wide range of philosophical issues critical to our times, from the loss of sacredness in contemporary life, to the importance of the divine feminine and what Harvey calls the “mystic dilemma” faced by spiritual seekers in a secular, materialist culture. How is it possible to live with an ongoing awareness of divinity, transcendence, and grace in our daunting, terror-filled age? What lessons can we draw from history’s great mystics, to strengthen our faith and wisdom in course of everyday life? These are the sorts of questions explored in this unique book