The Gift of Empathy: How generosity of spirit can transform your life

by Imi Lo

What is empathy? Can it be depleted? Can you empathize with those who've hurt you? Do you grapple with an excess of empathy that leaves you drained? Why is it often hardest to muster empathy for those we love? These questions might be what led you to pick up this book.Empathy is that profound moment when we step into someone else's shoes, perceive the world through their eyes, and genuinely understand their emotions. It's the bridge connecting us and the compass guiding us toward deeper connections. Yet, despite knowing empathy's value, there are times when it seems just beyond our reach.One of the most perplexing aspects of empathy is how we extend it to those who've harmed us. How do we show understanding to those who've caused us pain or mistreated us? Is empathy inherent, or can it be developed through training? These questions test our emotional boundaries, and in this book, we address them directly.Within these pages, we explore the complexities of coping with unempathetic parents, emotionally unavailable partners, and challenging work relationships. You'll gain practical tools for extending empathy and navigating the dynamics of family and groups. You'll also learn to balance empathy with self-respect, establish boundaries, and tend to your emotional needs.If you've ever struggled with empathy-feeling like you have either too much or too little-then this book is for you. It is as a guide to mend broken relationships, nurture deeper connections, and enhance self-love. Ultimately, you may come to view empathy not as something that drains you, but as a priceless gift that multiplies when shared.

329 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 5, 2025

About the author

Imi Lo is an internationally published author and independent consultant specializing in high intensity, sensitivity, and adult giftedness. She has published three books with Hachette: Emotional Sensitivity and Intensity (2018), translated into seven languages), The Gift of Intensity (2021), and The Gift of Empathy (2025).

With three master’s degrees in Mental Health (University of Queensland), Buddhist Studies (University of Hong Kong), and Global Cultures (King’s College London), Imi brings an interdisciplinary perspective to her work. Her professional experience includes work with Médecins Sans Frontières and the UK National Health Service. She has previously held roles as a psychotherapist, art therapist, suicide crisis social worker, and mental health supervisor.

Imi integrates coaching with psychoanalytic depth and philosophical insights, drawing from training in philosophical counseling, Jungian psychology, art psychotherapy, mentalization-based treatment, and trauma-informed modalities. Her research focuses on comparative approaches to existential questions, drawing particularly from Daoism, Stoicism, and Hellenistic philosophies.

Reviews

[Rich Kampmeier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imi Lo’s “The Gift of Empathy”, is quiet, deep, and enduring. Her writing is remarkably honest and wise, guiding the reader with grounded truth and skillful gentleness. There is great kindness here. Her writing avoids sentimentality yet radiates compassion.

She never overwhelms but simply illuminates. This is not a book that tries to “fix you.” Rather it affirms your worth, while gently deepening your ability to understand yourself and others. Imi offers these insights with rare clarity and care, in a way that feels both original and full of compassion.

What reaches out and in is how her deep understanding of human nature manifests in ways that are entirely practical and ever so hopeful.

She explores many corners of life, and what moved me most was the integrity in her guidance. Unlike other books that rely on techniques or strategies for managing people, this one offers no clever formulas, just truth, empathy, and insight from someone who genuinely sees others.

I spent a perfect day with this book with tea in hand, quiet all around, and felt like I was in conversation with someone who deeply gets all of us. Imi’s words felt like warm, steady company I wasn’t ready to part with.

She is such a unique and special voice, and The Gift of Empathy is, indeed, a gift.