Can empathy contribute to an adequate handling of taboos and to coping with taboo violations, thereby promoting resilience? In what ways and through what means does empathetic communication succeed or fail, for example, between doctor and patient, in psychotherapy, in pastoral work, or between religions and cultures? What functions does empathy have in narrative texts and films to manage context-sensitive taboos? How do the taboo areas of body and sexuality transform in Russian and Polish culture? The authors of this volume discuss communicative and narrative strategies as well as the functions of empathy in taboo-relevant existential boundary experiences, particularly in potentially traumatizing life crises such as illness, fear of death, loss of identity, or in sociocultural extreme situations.