A Matter of Spirit

Books on Effective Social Changers

Storycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story
Christina Baldwin
New World Library, 2005
Whether we are building community, healing generational wounds, or creating stronger organizations, sharing our individual stories is essential and powerful. Using stories of hope, the author shows us how to tell our stories.

The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
Thomas L. Friedman
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005
For Friedman the world is “flat,” meaning that we are “connected” instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet. In reality, the global economy is being driven by individuals all over the world who are competing for and winning jobs.

Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate—The Essential Guide for Progressives
George Lakoff
Chelsea Green Publishing
Company, 2004
Lakoff outlines the traditional American values that progressives hold, but are often unable to articulate; breaks down the ways in which conservatives have framed the issues; and provides examples of how progressives
can reframe the debate.

Restoring Hope
Cornell West
Beacon Press, 1999
Through interviews with leading politicians, writers, musicians, journalists, and scholars, West shows how hope and meaning in the African American community can be created and maintained.

Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future
Margaret J. Wheatley
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2002
“The intent of this book is to encourage and support you to begin conversations about things that are important to you and those near you,” Wheatley writes. Her 10 “conversation starters” are designed to begin conversations capable of healing everything from personal relationships to organizational dysfunction to world discord.

The Pastoral Circle Revisited: A Critical Quest for Truth And Transformation
Frans Wijsen, Peter Henriot, Rodrigo Mejia, eds.
Orbis Books, 2005
Explores the use of the pastoral circle, a four-step process that moves from discernment to action, in which social analysis is a key step.