Embracing Envy: Finding the Spiritual Treasure in Our Most Shameful Emotion

A very interesting and valuable analysis of envy. (Aaron Ben-Ze’ev, author of The Subtlety of Emotions, professor of philosophy, University of Haifa)

This is one of the best books that I have ever read on any emotion, but envy especially. . . . Gressel covers a remarkable range of scholarly work on envy, from religious treatments, tough psychoanalytic ideas, to contemporary experimental work in social psychology. He weaves his consistently innovative analysis of these perspectives with well-chosen interviews with people who speak frankly about their experiences with envy. These interviews, as well as candid accounts of his own struggles with envy, help keep Gressel’s analysis grounded in the everyday world. (Richard Smith, author of The Joy of Pain: Schadenfreude and the Dark Side of Human Nature, professor of psychology, University of Kentucky)

An interesting book that offers an exploration of a universal emotion that has remained largely hidden from view! The author develops an original perspective on envy integrating thoughts by a large panel of authors coming from social sciences and humanities as well as clinical observations related to his activity as a psychologist. A living and personal essay one reads with pleasure. (Bénédicte Vidaillet, author of Workplace Envy, professor of work and organizational psychology, University of Paris East, France)

Josh Gressel, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in the San Francisco Bay area and a student of Jewish mysticism. He is currently at work on a book about the role of projection in congregant-clergy relations.