Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle

Destined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality (Los Angeles Times)-Tattoos on the Heart is a series of parables about kinship and redemption from pastor, activist, and renowned speaker, Father Gregory Boyle.foxedfoxedThirty years ago, Gregory Boyle founded Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in Los Angeles, the gang capital of the world. In Tattoos on the Heart, his debut book, he distills his experience working with gang members into a breathtaking series of parables inspired by faith.foxedfoxedFrom giant, tattooed Cesar, shopping at JC Penney fresh out of prison, you learn how to feel worthy of God's love. From ten-year-old Pipi you learn the importance of being known and acknowledged. From Lulu you come to understand the kind of patience necessary to rescue someone from the dark-as Father Boyle phrases it, we can only shine a flashlight on a light switch in a darkened room.foxedfoxedThis is a motivating look at how to stay faithful in spite of failure, how to meet the world with a loving heart, and how to conquer shame with boundless, restorative love.foxedfoxedEditorial ReviewsfoxedfoxedIn this artful, disquieting, yet surprisingly jubilant memoir, Jesuit priest Boyle recounts his two decades of working with homies in Los Angeles County, which contains 1,100 gangs with nearly 86,000 members. Boyle's Homeboy Industries is the largest gang intervention program in the country, offering job training, tattoo removal, and employment to members of enemy gangs. Effectively straddling the debate regarding where the responsibility for urban violence lies, Boyle both recounts the despair of watching the kids you love cooperate in their own demise and levels the challenge to readers to stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it. From moving vignettes about gangsters breaking into tears or finding themselves worthy of love and affirmation, to moments of spiritual reflection and sidesplittingly funny banter between him and the homies, Boyle creates a convincing and even joyful treatise on the sacredness of every life. Considering that he has buried more than 150 young people from gang-related violence, the joyful tenor of the book remains an astounding literary and spiritual feat. (Mar.)foxedfoxed- Publishers WeeklyfoxedfoxedDestined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality.foxed-The Los Angeles TimesfoxedfoxedAn astonishing book . . . about suffering and dignity, death and resurrection, one of my favorite books in years. It is lovely and tough and tender beyond my ability to describe and left me in tears of both sorrow and laughter.-ANNE LAMOTT, AUTHOR OF GRACE (EVENTUALLY)foxedfoxedOne of the bravest, most humane, heartbreaking, brilliant, and hopeful stories I've read in ages. Father Greg, the Gandhi of the Gangs, fills Tattoos with unquenchable soul force and down-to-earth love. -JACK KORNFIELD, AUTHOR OF A PATH WITH HEARTfoxedfoxedFather Boyle reminds us all that every single child and youth is a part of God's ‘jurisdiction'-and when they know that we are seeing them as God does, they are capable of great things. Father Boyle is a national treasure.foxed-MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN, PRESIDENT, CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUNDfoxedfoxedSometimes we are allowed to see in our own lifetimes what we were supposed to see in the life and ministry of Jesus. Read, and let your life be changed!foxed-FATHER RICHARD ROHR, O.F.M., CENTER FOR ACTION AND CONTEMPLATION, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICOfoxedfoxedTattoos on the Heart is an astounding book and a remarkable testament. No one brings more triumph and tragedy to the street gang story than Greg Boyle. No one brings more conviction and compassion than Greg Boyle. And no one writes the gang story more beautifully.foxed-MALCOLM KLEIN, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIAfoxedfoxedA spiritual masterpiece touching the innermost sanctum of the human soul. Boyle approaches each person as a child of God and fully deserving of love and compassion. His capacity to reach the heart of the most hardened, and to see the best in everyone, inspires. I laughed, wept, and underlined on virtually every page.foxed-KERRY KENNEDY, FOUNDER OF THE RFK CENTER FOR JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTSfoxedfoxedAn extraordinary reflection of a life totally committed to reshaping and redirecting the lives of countless young gang members (from L.A.'s gang culture), Greg Boyle's Tattoos on the Heart proves one man with courage is a majority. -MARTIN SHEENfoxedfoxedTattoos on the Heart is an honest, raw, and compelling collection from Father Greg Boyle's life and work with gang-involved youth. His commitment should teach us all a lesson in compromise, sharing, learning, loving, and, most important, living life to the fullest. -ANJELICA HUSTONfoxedfoxedIncandescent, always hope-filled and often hilarious. Boyle somehow maintains an exuberant voice that celebrates the strength, compassion and humanity of people often demonized. He simply highlights charity and goodness wherever they are found. Boyle intersperses his narratives about gang members and his work with them with theological and spiritual reflections from a variety of theologians, poets and other writers. By introducing book-buying, highly educated readers to people we may never otherwise encounter, Boyle aspires to broaden the parameters of our kinship.'-The Christian CenturyfoxedfoxedIn this artful, disquieting, yet surprisingly jubilant memoir, Jesuit priest Boyle recounts his two decades of working with homies in Los Angeles County, which contains 1,100 gangs with nearly 86,000 members. . . . From moving vignettes about gangsters breaking into tears or finding themselves worthy of love and affirmation, to moments of spiritual reflection and sidesplittingly funny banter between him and the homies, Boyle creates a convincing and even joyful treatise on the sacredness of every life. Considering that he has buried more than 150 young people from gang-related violence, the joyful tenor of the book remains an astounding literary and spiritual feat. foxed-Publishers Weekly Starred ReviewfoxedfoxedA set of stories that will stir many emotions. They will leave you dumbfounded at the power of love and compassion to break down high walls built by anger and pain.foxed-America magazinefoxedfoxedJaw-dropping. Boyle take[s] us through the human lifecycle of fall/grace/redemption/repeat again and again. Reading this book is a spiritually cleansing experience that won't leave you the same. The compassion Boyle writes of is so deep and wide and strong that nobody is ever beyond its reach. Tattoos on the Heart welcomes all of us to join in the no matter whatness of God's unconditional love. Sojournersfoxed- From the PublisherfoxedfoxedDestined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality.-The Los Angeles Timesfoxed- The Christian Century - Martin SheenfoxedfoxedIncandescent, always hope-filled and often hilarious.foxed--The Christian Centuryfoxed- The Christian CenturyfoxedfoxedDestined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality.--The Los Angeles Timesfoxed- Los Angeles TimesfoxedfoxedTwenty years working at the Dolores Mission in the ganglands of Los Angeles have made Jesuit priest Gregory Boyle a keen observer and philosopher. His collection of parables and observations of the members of the community he serves creates a memorable audiobook. Boyle is not a polished narrator, but his evident compassion and commitment will win over listeners. He becomes more comfortable with the audio medium as the program goes along, and a most relaxed storyteller's style evolves. Boyle's stories of the creation of Homeboy Bakery and Homeboy Industries are by turns heartrending and hopeful. The many triumphs small and large of the gang members and the community and, of course, the tragedies make you want to tattoo Boyle's message on your heart. R.F.W. ¬© AudioFile 2011, Portland, Mainefoxed- MARCH 2011 - AudioFile