Widening Circles: A Memoir
by Joanna MacyAVAILABILITY: Usually ships within 2-5 days
Publication Date: 2007
Publisher: New Catalyst Books
Binding: Paperback
Topics: Biography / Autobiography, Militarism, Nature, Nonviolence, Social Movements, Spirituality & Religion
Description: In this absorbing and sometimes thrilling memoir, well-known eco-philosopher, Buddhist scholar, and deep ecology activist /teacher Joanna Macy recounts her adventures of mind and spirit in the key social movements of our era. Macy's autobiography reads like a novel as she relates her multifaceted life experiences and reflects on how her marriage and family life enriched her service to the world.
Macy's formative years with an abusive father and oppressed mother set her on an irrevocable path of self-definition and independence. A short-lived stint with the CIA exposed Macy first hand to the Cold War's darkest threats: the construction of the hydrogen bomb and the building of the Berlin Wall. With three children in tow, Macy and her husband traveled with the Peace Corps to Africa, India, and Tibet, where her encounter with the Dalai Lama and Buddhism led to Macy's lifelong embrace of the religion and a deep commitment to the peace and environmental movements.
In 'Widening Circles', the unique synthesis of spirituality and activism that define Macy's contribution to the world are illuminated by the life-events and experiences that have paved her uncommon path.
Joanna Macy has created an international following over her 20-year career and continues to be a tireless speaker and workshop leader. She is the author of seven previous books including 'Despair and Personal Empowerment in the Nuclear Age' (1983) and 'Coming Back To Life' (1998). She teaches in the San Francisco Bay area graduate schools: California Institute of Integral Studies, Starr King School for Ministry, and University of Creation Spirituality. Macy lives in Berkeley, California.
Review(s): "This account of a spiritual life will undoubtedly become a classic. This is no airbrushed memoir but a deep exploration of how a soul is formed - which makes the book all the more compelling." - Susan Griffin, author of 'What Her Body Thought'
"To come to know Joanna Macy through this book is to acquire a new vision of what a human life can be. You will be drawn irresistably into the tale of her own thousand and one lives; but let this voice enter your own life at a deeper level, and your own future story may not be the same." - Daniel Ellsberg, who released the Pentagon Papers