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High Conflict

Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out

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High Conflict

By: Amanda Ripley
Narrated by: Amanda Ripley
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A “compulsively readable” (Evan Osnos, National Book Award–winning author) book from the New York Times bestselling author of The Unthinkable and award-winning journalist Amanda Ripley investigating how good people get captured by high conflict—and how they break free.

When we are baffled by the insanity of the “other side”—in our politics, at work, or at home—it’s because we aren’t seeing how the conflict itself has taken over. That’s what “high conflict” does. High conflict is what happens when discord distills into a good-versus-evil kind of feud, the kind with an us and a them. In this state, the brain behaves differently. We feel increasingly certain of our own superiority, and everything we do to try to end the conflict, usually makes it worse. Eventually, we can start to mimic the behavior of our adversaries, harming what we hold most dear.

Our journey spans California, Chicago, Colombia, New York, and beyond, following people caught in political feuds, gang vendettas, and deep ideological divides as they confront the stories fueling their conflicts and seek a path forward. All these people, in dramatically different situations, were drawn into high conflict by similar forces, including conflict entrepreneurs, humiliation, and false binaries. But ultimately, all of them found ways to transform high conflict into good conflict, the kind that made them better people. They rehumanized and recatego­rized their opponents, and they revived curiosity and wonder, even as they continued to fight for what they knew was right.

People do escape high conflict. Individuals—even entire communities—can short-circuit the feedback loops of outrage and blame, if they want to. “Insightful and enthralling” (The New York Times Book Review) High Conflict provides a mind-opening new way to think about conflict that will transform how we move through the world.

Featuring audio highlights from actual interviews, town hall meetings, and podcasts. Career Success Conflict Resolution Decision-Making & Problem Solving Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Relationships Social Sciences Violence in Society Inspiring Social Conflict
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Thought-provoking Insights • Valuable Conflict Tools • Engaging Narration • Well-researched Content • Pleasant Voice

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This book has so much rich knowledge in it it’s hard to dissect all at once. I am a physician and listening is some thing that is paramount to what I do, yet conflict rises constantly throughout my day. Many of them are small conflicts but once in a while a true high conflict situation arises. It’s been difficult for many of us in the medical field to really understand how to handle conflict. I believe this book is a valuable tool for all of us individually, but many of us who work in fields with significant and voluminous human interaction would benefit most from listening to Amanda Ripleys wonderful thesis on conflict.

One of the top 3 books I’ve ever read

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A well written, well researched and well narrated book that would be important at any time, but perhaps, especially resonant now, at a time of heightened polarization and high conflict in the United States

An important book with timely, implications

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Loved it! Couldn't stop listening to the stories and lessons. We all need to seek more understanding and work on our curiosity muscles.

For everyone to hear/read!

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Nothing short of brilliant! Anyone will learn from this book. And superb narration. Need to re-read/listen.

Fantastic and insightful!

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Very well put together book on how to recognize and manage high conflict. Filled with great real life examples of high conflict and how people
Managed out of it and learned to avoid getting in a high conflict situation.

Understanding High Conflict

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