Tattoos On the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion

By Gregory Boyle

Book Overview

"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.

Thirty 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.

From 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.

This 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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1439153159
• ISBN13: 9781439153154
• Release Date: February 2011
• Publisher: Free Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

10/10

Perspective 100% whether you have experienced gang violence firsthand or not. You’re invited into a world where you read first hand experiences of what it’s like to live in low income communities that struggle with these problems on a daily basis. Father Boyle needs all the recognition and flowers for this book.

My favorite non-fiction

I’ve given this book away to friends more than any other. For anyone trying to cultivate compassion and gain understanding around the realities of living life with the marginalized… start here.

The Beat book ever!

My granddaughter in rehab, my grandson experimenting with drug; this book is their gift. Hope, laughter, and a whole lot of tears ; with a large serving of truth on the side.

Christian love

A book filled with wonderful examples of Christian love.

Tattoos Your Heart

This book is about the lives of young men and women who, with the guidance of the author, find that there is an achievable alternative to gang life. Filled with the telling of these lives and the how they came to be, the reader is taken to the dark beginnings as oftentimes is the way for many people who find themselves in gangs, and then for the ones who are lucky enough to know themselves worthy, the light. I couldn't put this book down. It was emotionally difficult at times but the truth is always hard. My heart is tattooed now too.

A message of Love, compassion and kindness.

Easy reading and a great message of Love and Compassion.

Compelling stories of a priest called by the love of Christ to love the world.

Tattoos on the Heart is an gripping story of transformation. I drive long distances several times a month and am always looking for good audio books. The stories in Tattoos on the Heart draw the reader (listener) into them and stir empathy for the gang members whose lives are passionate, dangerous, and changing that I found myself looking forward to the next time I could listen. Fr. Gregory's stories will appeal to a wide range of listeners interested in human stories, especially stories where people are compelled to act because they are steeped in the gospel. When I finished this audio book I made a list of friends and family who I think will also love the stories and who I hope will hear about the love in Jesus Christ that has moved Fr. Gregory to be the courageous, loving, activist priest he is.