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Roeper Review
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“ Mellow Out, ” They Say. If I Only Could: Intensities

and Sensitivities of the Young and Bright.
Piechowski, M. (2006)
a
Susan Assouline
a
Belin-Blank Cent er ,
Published online: 13 Jul 2009.

To cite this article: Susan Assouline (2009) “ Mellow Out , ” They Say. If I Only Could: Int ensit ies and Sensit ivit ies of t he
Young and Bright . Piechowski, M. (2006), Roeper Review, 31: 3, 196-196, DOI: 10. 1080/ 02783190902994233

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 Roeper Review, 31:196, 2009
Copyright © The Roeper Institute
ISSN: 0278-3193 print / 1940-865X online
DOI: 10.1080/02783190902994233
UROR
BOOK REVIEW
Dona J. Matthews, Book Review Section Editor
Piechowski, M. (2006). “Mellow Out,” They Say. If I Only
Book Review
Could: Intensities and Sensitivities of the Young and Bright.
Madison, WI: Yunasa Books (307 pp., $23.95 pb, ISBN:
978-0977753000).
This special issue on Dabrowski is the perfect venue for a
Downloaded by [FU Berlin] at 05:06 26 November 2014
review of Michael Piechowski’s “Mellow Out,” They Say.
If I Only Could. The title of the book is immediately engag-
ing and sets the stage for a personal journey through the
complex landscape of emotional intensities. I smiled
throughout, especially in those sections that were most poi-
gnant and captured Michael’s humor.
Because I have known Michael Piechowski for almost half
of my life, I was somewhat hesitant about writing a review,
out of concern about being able to maintain objectivity. How-
ever, I quickly realized that there is no need to be objective
when talking about the contents of this book. The concept of
emotional intensities, which was first introduced to me by
Michael, is subjective, not objective. Whether you have been
fortunate enough to know Michael, and thus will hear his
voice when reading the book, or whether this is your first
introduction to the subject and the author, you will be hooked
from the beginning because it is a genuine story of the heart.
Mellow Out offers optimism and light to the potentially dark
and ugly realization that we are all alone. Understanding
aloneness within the context of our relationships with others
and the world gives way to confidence in our experiences and
their role in personal growth and development.
Michael truly captures Kazimierz Dabrowski’s contribution
to psychology. Dabrowski introduced two concepts essential to
understanding the social-emotional development of gifted indi-
viduals: developmental potential and multilevelness.
Developmental potential refers to the “endowment and
the properties of the system that enables us to feel and
experience things . . . [multilevelness] introduces the
notion that the extremes—for good and for bad—of human
emotions, motivations, values, strivings, and behaviors
will make more sense if looked at through a prism of lev-
els” (p. 18). Adolescence is a period of change and transi-
tion from childhood to adulthood. By reading the excerpts
from the research, the quotes from adolescents, I was
reminded that the process of change does not terminate
when the physical transition to adulthood is complete. By
reading these excerpts, and knowing that at various times
during my adolescence and adult life I’ve felt like this, I
found comfort because, if others feel the same way, not
only are we not alone in this universe, we do not have to
be alone.
Yes, this is must-reading for young, bright people as well
their parents and educators. But don’t read it like a novel
that you can’t put down. Take your time. Once you’ve read
the three chapters in Part 1, which present the theory and
provide vignettes and quotes to make it real, you will have
the necessary foundation to skip around the remaining chap-
ters and sections. Open it up and just start reading. Then,
use it in your daily life to remain connected to the heart and
soul of gifted individuals.
Reviewed by Susan Assouline, the Belin-Blank Cen-
ter’s Associate Director. Dr. Assouline has an appoint-
ment as professor of school psychology. Currently, she is
lead investigator on the Belin-Blank Center’s national
study on twice exceptional children. E-mail:susan-assouline@
uiowa.edu