Dangerous Love - by Chad Ford (Paperback)

About the Book

"Longtime international mediator Chad Ford says love-yes, love-is the missing ingredient in conflict resolution. "If we can learn to see our "enemies" as we see ourselves, we can break down barriers and open up paths for creative problem-solving"--

Book Synopsis

"Chad Ford reminds us that humanity lies within all of us, and although conflict is everywhere in today's world, we have the tools we need to overcome obstacles and to thrive. This is a fantastic, timely book that I highly recommend."
--Steve Kerr, Head Coach, Golden State Warriors

Knowing how to transform conflict is critical in both our personal and professional lives. Yet, by and large, we are terrible at it. The reason, says longtime mediator Chad Ford, is fear. When conflict comes, our instincts are to run or fight.

To transform conflict, Ford says we need to turn toward the people we are in conflict with, put down our physical and emotional weapons, and really love them with the kind of love that leads us to treat others as fellow human beings, not as objects in our way. We have to open ourselves up with no guarantee that anyone on the other side will do the same. While this can feel even more dangerous than conflict itself, it allows us to see the humanity of others so clearly that their needs and desires matter to us as much as our own.

Ford shows dangerous love in action through examples ranging from his work in the Middle East to a deeply moving story about reconciling with his father. He explains why we disconnect from people at the very time we need to be most connected and the predictable patterns of justification and escalation that ensue. Most importantly, he gives us a path to practice dangerous love in the conflicts that matter most to us.

Review Quotes

"Ford reminds us that humanity lies within all of us, and although conflict is everywhere in today's world, we have the tools we need to overcome obstacles and to thrive. This is a fantastic, timely book that I highly recommend."
--Steve Kerr, Head Coach, Golden State Warriors

"Ford documents what is hard to fathom today: building bridges, not walls, is the best way to prevent conflict and promote peace."
--Evan Ryan, Executive Vice President, Axios, and former US Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs

"This book is for everyone who wants to overcome the fear of conflict and begin living more positively."
--Dan Pfeiffer, cohost of Pod Save America and former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama

"Dangerous Love provides mind-altering and life-changing thoughts for building bridges across the gulf of conflict that separates people in their personal, professional, and communal lives."
--Ron Shapiro, founder of the Shapiro Negotiations Institute and New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Nice

About the Author

Chad Ford is associate professor of intercultural peace building and director of the David O. McKay Center for Intercultural Understanding at Brigham Young University-Hawaii. He sits on the executive committee of the Board of Trustees for PeacePlayers, an organization that uses sports to unite divided communities. Ford also works with the Arbinger Institute as a consultant on global conflict resolution initiatives. He spent seventeen years as a senior editor and writer at ESPN.