Why Good People Do Bad Things - by James Hollis (Paperback)

About the Book

Many seemingly unexplainable behaviors are manifestations of what Jung termed the Shadow, that unconscious part of the self that contradicts the image of the public self. Hollis suggests that becoming more attuned to the complexity of behavior is the first step toward wholeness.

Book Synopsis

Working with the Shadow is not working with evil, per se. It is working toward the possibility of greater wholeness. We will never experience healing until we can come to love our unlovable places, for they, too, ask love of us.

How is it that good people do bad things? Why is our personal story and our societal history so bloody, so repetitive, so injurious to self and others?

How do we make sense of the discrepancies between who we think we are--or who we show to the outside world--versus our everyday behaviors? Why are otherwise ordinary people driven to addictions and compulsions, whether alcohol, drugs, food, shopping, infidelity, or the Internet? Why are interpersonal relationships so often filled with strife?

Exploring Jung's concept of the Shadow--the unconscious parts of our self that contradict the image of the self we hope to project--Why Good People Do Bad Things guides you through all the ways in which many of our seemingly unexplainable behaviors are manifestations of the Shadow. In addition to its presence in our personal lives, Hollis looks at the larger picture of the Shadow at work in our culture--from organized religion to the suffering and injustice that abounds in our modern world. Accepting and examining the Shadow as part of one's self, Hollis suggests, is the first step toward wholeness. Revealing a new way of understanding our darker selves, Hollis offers wisdom to help you to acquire a more conscious conduct of your life and bring a new level of awareness to your daily actions and choices.

Review Quotes

Praise for "Why Good People Do Bad Things" and for James Hollis

?Hollis suggests that we can only become whole (and good) by acknowledging our Shadow and accepting that it's O K to have a dark side, as long as we never let it take control of who we are. . . . The difference between this book and most of the slick self-helpers is that Hollis has genuinely important, meaningful things to say.?
?"Booklist"

?Nourishing. . . . Like a master chef, James Hollis knows that good food for the soul cannot be ordered to go.?
?"The Plain Dealer"



[Hollis] speaks to and teaches from the heart. A combination of genuine vision and genuine humanity is a rare and valuable gift... (Clarissa Pinkola Ests, author of "Women Who Run with the Wolves")

Everyone seems to be obsessing about the monetary cost of the graying of the American population, but theres very little talk of the soul. James Hollis...has plenty to say about the soul erudite and cultured but also accessible. ("The Portland Tribune")

[James Hollis] is one of our great teachers and healers. (Stephen Dunn, Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet)

ÝHollis¨ speaks to and teaches from the heart. A combination of genuine vision and genuine humanity is a rare and valuable gift... (Clarissa Pinkola Est?s, author of "Women Who Run with the Wolves")

ÝJames Hollis¨ is one of our great teachers and healers. (Stephen Dunn, Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet)

Nourishing. . . . Like a master chef, James Hollis knows that good food for the soul cannot be ordered to go. ("The Plain Dealer," Cleveland)

About the Author

James Hollis, Ph.D., is a Jungian analyst in private practice and executive director of the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Houston. Educated at Manchester College, Drew University, and the Jung Institute in Zurich, he was a humanities professor for more than twenty years and is the author of ten previous books, including the best selling The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning at Midlife and The Eden Project: In Search of the Magical Other. Based in Houston, he lectures frequently throughout the country and worldwide.