We are thrilled to announce that the Latvian rights for GENTLE POWER: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu by Emilia Elisabet Lahti, PhD, have been acquired by Zvaigzne ABC! The deal was closed by Sten-Erik Tammemäe at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency. Originally published in the US in January 2023 by Sounds True, the title has also been sold to China to Cheers Publishing, and Thailand to Amarin.

Life is an ultramarathon. The best path is to access your sisu and keep your heart open. Author, and founder of Sisu Lab and Gentle Power Academy, Emilia Elisabet Lahti, PhD, describes GENTLE POWER:
“Love is our base element of life and love has always been there waiting for us to remove the veils that conceal it. Power is our base element too, and together with love it lays the blueprint for how we express our energy and potential in life. I call their harmonious expression gentle power.  This book is the result of my lifelong struggle to learn about love and power through trial and error. Every failure I meet reveals itself as a lesson in love and power.”

GENTLE POWER has garnered excellent reviews by critics and experts and generated a lot of media interest in both Lahti and her book:

“The book prompts readers to consider how they might develop their own compassionate power, urging them to be curious about what’s actually happening in a given conflict and to approach interactions with others without preconceived ideas. When we embody our sisu, Lahti says, we “open our eyes wide to whatever is at hand … with curiosity and courage that are soft around the edges.” – Spirituality & Health Magazine

Read Emilia Elisabet Lahti’s cover feature and 7-page interview for Spirituality & Health here: https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/running-on-gentle-power
Listen to Forging Mettle Podcast: The yin and yang of gentleness and power: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Sv5GJjUAI

“In this beautiful book, Elisabet shows us how strength and toughness are not the same thing. A much-needed antidote to the myth of mind over matter, and a touching, honest story of one woman’s journey to discover the true origins of grit and fulfillment.” ―Angela Duckworth, PhD, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and New York Times bestselling author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

“Gentle Power is a brilliant and refreshing idea. Lahti is a rare combination of real-life adventurer and scientist. With the warmth and authenticity typical to her writing, she outlines an inviting path toward our highest expression through the power of everyday relationships.” ―Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD

Download the English PDF for GENTLE POWER here!

GENTLE POWER: A Revolution in How We Think, Lead, and Succeed Using the Finnish Art of Sisu

Emilia Elisabet Lahti

The Finnish philosophy of sisu shows us a new way to look at power—not as force and domination but as the harmonious expression of human character in everyday actions. With Gentle Power, Finnish-born Dr. Emilia Elisabet Lahti shares an illuminating guide to an emerging shift in the way we define true strength—an approach that balances resolve with reason, grit with compassion, and personal success with service to the collective good. Lahti explores sisu, world traditions, and modern research to provide a new way to approach leadership, resilience, and our power to create change.

Power is fundamental in our lives—we express it in every conversation, relationship, and choice we make. All too often, we equate force and domination with power, while gentleness and compassion are considered “soft” or “weak.” The destructive nature of this skewed perspective has never been more obvious, yet there is reason to hope.

We are beyond thrilled to announce that World English rights for GENTLE POWER: A REVOLUTION IN HOW WE THINK, LEAD AND SUCCEED were acquired in a pre-empt by Diana Ventimiglia at Sounds True:

Former student of Angela Duckworth, international keynote speaker and researcher Emilia Lahti’s GENTLE POWER: A REVOLUTION IN HOW WE THINK, LEAD AND SUCCEED, on co-creating the next level of company and community cultures based on the science of sisu, and introducing the original concept of gentle power, is a universal strategy for how to draw from the deep well of inner strength and fortitude in order to lead more effectively in all aspects of life.

Download the English proposal by clicking here

The deal was negotiated by the Gentle Power Team: Agent Rhea Lyons at HG Literary and Elina Ahlbäck at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

Emilia Lahti’s brand new publisher Sounds True has a mission: To wake up the world! Gentle Power will contribute to this mission by offering a tool for accessing and balancing the two inner powers we each hold within—our indomitable life force and immense capacity for love—and will be written in English by Emilia Lahti. Sounds True will publish the original English language edition in Fall 2022/Spring 2023.

Sounds True was founded in 1985 by Tami Simon and has grown into a multimedia publishing company with a library of more than 3,000 titles featuring some of the leading teachers and visionaries of our time: Read more: Sounds True