Dalhousie University prof’s acclaimed book explores our relationship with guilt

CITYnews halifax/ By Steve Gow

A highly-anticipated new book by a Dalhousie University professor is shedding light on an emotion we all experience.

Available now, The Power of Guilt: Why We Feel It and Its Surprising Ability to Heal has been featured on Indigo’s Most Anticipated Canadian Books of 2026 list.

Written by Dr. Chris Moore, professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie, the book combines storytelling and science to explore how guilt impacts our lives.

“Pretty much anybody can read this book and get something out of it,” says Dr. Moore. “The point that I’m trying to make about guilt is that we all feel it. Pretty much, all of us feel it at some time or another and that’s because we all have relationships that we care about.”

Through extensive research into human and animal psychology, psychotherapy, philosophy, comparative religion and legal frameworks, The Power of Guilt focuses on how the emotion acts as a signal that we have harmed someone we care about and that we should attempt to repair that harm.

When addressed, it can help us care for our relationships. However often, it is ignored and internalized, which can cause more harm.

“All of our relationships get strained at some point and when they’re strained, that’s when guilt tends to arise,” says Dr. Moore. “And the guilt helps us focus on what we can do to mend the relationships or make them better.”

Of course, Dr. Moore’s own personal experience is a key part of the book.

He only began writing The Power of Guilt in 2020, years after he spent three months in prison for his part in a horrific car crash that caused the death of one person and left several others injured, an event that helped redefine the value of guilt for him.

“I really wanted to start writing something that would reach a more general audience,” says Dr. Moore about the book. “And as a reader of the book will know, having had a number of experiences with guilt along the way, I really felt like guilt was a topic that a lot of people could relate to.”

A book launch for The Power of Guilt a book launch will take place on January 13 from 4-6 p.m. at The Social at Dalhousie University.