It's here!

by Terry Chadsey, Executive Director    

My copy of Parker Palmer's new book, Healing the Heart of Democracy, arrived today. Having been so involved with Parker's writing of this one, holding the book, smelling that new book smell, and flipping through the pages were a poignant experience for me. I stopped amidst the rush of events in this day and savored that moment.

And I thought about my own hopes for this book as it goes out into the world. I hope it is read and savored by all for whom democracy is important, in this country and throughout the world. I hope it is passed from friend to colleague to neighbor and to those who serve us in public roles. I hope it catalyzes new conversations and new ways for us to be citizens even as we are teachers, doctors, clergy, leaders, business women and men, parents, and community members.  I hope it is an inspiration to all of us who don't know how to be citizens and disparage what politics now looks like. I hope it helps us find hope in what we do today and tomorrow.

If you need further invitation to read this book, I highly recommend this review posted by the folks from the Hearts and Minds Book shop in Dallastown, PA.  I've seldom read a more comprehensive and inviting review of any book.  I especially enjoyed, "Here, Palmer's Healing the Heart of Democracy is wise, kindly, and urgently needed because he is showing us how to reweave the tattered fabric of our communal life and how to 'walk on' as part of a commonweal.  He is good at this stuff, how to take next steps amidst tensions. He is gifted and experienced and truly wants to bring a variety of voices to the conversation."

As you read this review or the book, I'd love to hear what your next steps look like.