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Phoenix Zones: Where Strength Is Born and Resilience Lives
Few things get our compassion flowing like the sight of suffering. But our response is often shaped by our ability to empathize with others. Some people respond to the suffering of only humans or to one person’s plight more than another’s. Others react more strongly to the suffering of an animal. These divergent realities can be troubling—but they are also a reminder that trauma and suffering are endured by all beings, and we can learn lessons about their aftermath, even across species.
With Phoenix Zones, Dr. Hope Ferdowsian shows us how. Ferdowsian has spent years traveling the world to work with people and animals who have endured trauma—war, abuse, displacement. Here, she combines compelling stories of survivors with the latest science on resilience to help us understand the link between violence against people and animals and the biological foundations of recovery, peace, and hope. Taking us to the sanctuaries that give the book its title, she reveals how the injured can heal and thrive if we attend to key principles: respect for liberty and sovereignty, a commitment to love and tolerance, the promotion of justice, and a fundamental belief that each individual possesses dignity. Courageous tales show us how: stories of combat veterans and wolves recovering together at a California refuge, Congolese women thriving in one of the most dangerous places on earth, abused chimpanzees finding peace in a Washington sanctuary, and refugees seeking care at Ferdowsian’s own medical clinic.
These are not easy stories. Suffering is real, and recovery is hard. But resilience is real, too, and Phoenix Zones shows how we can foster it. It reveals how both people and animals deserve a chance to live up to their full potential—and how such a view could inspire solutions to some of the greatest challenges of our time.
Great news! University of Chicago Press is offering a discount. If you go to www.bit.ly/PhoenixZones and use the code AD1706 at checkout, you'll get 30% off! You can also call 1-800-621-2736 and use the discount code over the phone.
With Phoenix Zones, Dr. Hope Ferdowsian shows us how. Ferdowsian has spent years traveling the world to work with people and animals who have endured trauma—war, abuse, displacement. Here, she combines compelling stories of survivors with the latest science on resilience to help us understand the link between violence against people and animals and the biological foundations of recovery, peace, and hope. Taking us to the sanctuaries that give the book its title, she reveals how the injured can heal and thrive if we attend to key principles: respect for liberty and sovereignty, a commitment to love and tolerance, the promotion of justice, and a fundamental belief that each individual possesses dignity. Courageous tales show us how: stories of combat veterans and wolves recovering together at a California refuge, Congolese women thriving in one of the most dangerous places on earth, abused chimpanzees finding peace in a Washington sanctuary, and refugees seeking care at Ferdowsian’s own medical clinic.
These are not easy stories. Suffering is real, and recovery is hard. But resilience is real, too, and Phoenix Zones shows how we can foster it. It reveals how both people and animals deserve a chance to live up to their full potential—and how such a view could inspire solutions to some of the greatest challenges of our time.
Great news! University of Chicago Press is offering a discount. If you go to www.bit.ly/PhoenixZones and use the code AD1706 at checkout, you'll get 30% off! You can also call 1-800-621-2736 and use the discount code over the phone.
- GenresWolves
224 pages, Hardcover
First published April 6, 2018
4 people are currently reading
721 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 6, 2018
It's rare to find a book that so effortlessly and warmly inspires while it also stays grounded in and mindful of the grim realities of the world we all live in. The author not only asks us to consider the root causes and impacts of violence, but also—in the form of well told stories of people (and animals) she's met in the course of her work—shows us how we can begin to remedy it. As you progress through the book, the unsung connections between people and animals, human rights and animal rights, seem that much more salient and urgent. Compassion and justice together drive the book's thoughtful, careful arguments, strengthened by the author's credibility and clarity of voice as a physician and advocate. This book will give you the kind of hope you know what to do with after you turn the last page and look around with fresh eyes at yourself, your home, your community, your country, and the world at large.
March 11, 2018
I was blown away by this book. Dr. Ferdowsian weaves together: gripping narratives of humans and animals who have healed after suffering unimaginable pain and misery; the science behind this resilience; historical perspectives; and evolving national and international law as it relates to protection of vulnerable humans and animals. It seems fitting that the author’s name is “Hope� as her important book maps a path forward to take us from the violence and oppression in our world to one of sanctuary and healing. Stories of resilience and redemption are the stuff of Hollywood films--but with her engaging stories and eye-opening scientific insights, Dr. Ferdowsian explains how resilience and redemption can help us find our way to a better world.
July 31, 2018
Ferdowsian has an idea. And that is about all. Oh, and it might sound as shocking, but the plural to anecdote is not data.
February 20, 2018
The greatest appeal of Phoenix Zones: Where Strength Is Born and Resilience Lives lies in its title. It’s a perfect description of the tremendous gift that the book brings. During a time in which so many people are struggling to process the pain and “isms� in the world, Phoenix Zones shows how we can help set a different, more hopeful, resilient path. It illustrates the similarities between people and animals, building on the inherent and fulfilling connections that people feel to the animals in their lives, and vice versa. And there’s a good example, the book helps me to see the “vice versa�. The book’s intentional parallels between human and animal stories and the associated discussions challenged me to think more deeply about abuses of vulnerable beings - whether they be human or nonhuman animals. Phoenix Zones feels like a safe place to explore these concepts and to help figure out how to pull strength from the difficult things that we face in life.
February 16, 2018
Before I read Phoenix Zones, I never gave much attention to or thought about how humans structure violence for non-humans. I regularly read preclinical and biomedical studies on animals where I was explicitly focused on the knowledge that we humans gained from these experiments, versus the subjects being experimented on. I also did not realize that the US was the last industrialized country to experiment on chimpanzees. In Phoenix Zones, Dr. Ferdowsian challenges anthropocentric conceptualizations of suffering and resilience. She uses neuroscience to illustrate non-human similarities in trauma and recovery processes. She examines resilience processes that span interspecies divides. Throughout the book, Dr. Ferdowsian asks us to be mindful of the fact that humans structure torture for both humans and non-humans, and she argues that both exhibit the capacity to recover. She calls for a commitment to love, tolerance, and nonviolent principles outside of a zero-sum framework. Like all good books, this one gave me new ideas to consider, and it changed the way I think about non-human suffering, resilience, and why it is important to even think about these topics.
February 24, 2018
Phoenix Zones is a stunning work of hope, resilience, and healing for nonhuman and human animals who have experienced deep trauma in a world in which intense kindness and cruelty, along with destruction and redemption, coexist. Dr. Ferdowsian weaves together stories of chimpanzees, wolves, humans, and elephants recovering themselves with the latest neuroscience, historical perspectives, and national and international law to show us what Phoenix Zones are and why these zones are so desperately needed. Her vision of liberty, sovereignty, justice, and love in the face of trauma that so many of us turn away from illuminates pathways forward and is a balm for deep wounds in these times.
February 21, 2018
Reading Phoenix Zones� uplifting and very personal stories made me feel like there was tangible hope for the future. This is real life with people who are making the world a better place on a daily basis - and everyone can be a part of the change we want to see happen. Dr. Ferdowsian helps us see how helping others helps ourselves and can change our world for the better. That’s inspiration!
August 28, 2019
This was a good book with a lot of interesting and thought-provoking information in it. Some of the stories were sad, yet the overall message was that there is hope (no pun intended, since it's the author's name). Two thumbs up, well worth reading if you are interested in resilience, overcoming trauma, animal rights, human rights, etc.
September 9, 2023
The writing gets a bit muddy and overly latinate at times, but this book has SO many good stories of people finding ways to heal in it, and I like her framework. A heavy read because of all of the trauma discussed; I had to take it in small chunks.
March 4, 2018
This is an exceptionally well written and thought out book. I enjoyed reading it and it was a surprisingly easy and fast read. I highly recommend it.
July 10, 2020
I loved this book ... an absolute must-read for 2020.
March 11, 2023
This is a fantastic read. Really interesting juxtaposition of how principles apply to both humans and animals.
April 12, 2018
A free copy of this book was sent to be as part of a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ giveaway. The author also sent me a hand written card, which I thought was very sweet.
I thought the book was well written and well researched.
Many of the stories in the book were heart wrenching and moving.
I disagree with the auth that animals should be treated the same as humans. I agree with her that animals should not be tortured or used in research, but I don't think that if we start thinking of animals as being on the same level as humans, that the we will suddenly start treating humans better.
I do agree that humans and animals should be treated with dignity.
I also wish that the author had included more information on how the victims of torture or mistreatment overcame what happened to them in the past.
I thought the book was well written and well researched.
Many of the stories in the book were heart wrenching and moving.
I disagree with the auth that animals should be treated the same as humans. I agree with her that animals should not be tortured or used in research, but I don't think that if we start thinking of animals as being on the same level as humans, that the we will suddenly start treating humans better.
I do agree that humans and animals should be treated with dignity.
I also wish that the author had included more information on how the victims of torture or mistreatment overcame what happened to them in the past.
September 13, 2024
I loved reading this book and enjoyed the optimistic view on healing. I fell in love with some of the individuals portrayed and found myself rereading favorite vignettes. The author's vision to end cruel systems and practices and become more accountable and honest in this world is exciting. Great information on compassion and fairness, strength and resilience.
July 10, 2018
This book makes clear that the "human" animal is no different than any other animal in the way that we can be broken down, tortured, oppressed, etc. It also explains that we can create spaces for healing and hope that start with empathetic people who can identify the needs of others, meet those needs and/or have the willingness to fight for those needs to be met in the name of providing healthier systems within our society and thereby impacting it with result of society being more just.
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August 3, 2018362.19685 F348 2018
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