An autobiography by the influential ecologist and philosopher covering her life from her childhood in a rural area of western New York State to her marriage, travels, involvement in environmental activism, and spiritual journey through Buddhist faith and practices.

Widening the Circle is a passionate, even radical argument for creating school and classroom environments where all kids, including children labeled as “disabled” and “special needs,” are welcome on equal terms. In opposition to traditional models of special education, where teachers decide when a child is deemed “ready to compete” in “mainstream” classes, Mara Sapon-Shevin articulates a vision of full inclusion as a practical and moral goal. Inclusion, she argues, begins not with the assumption that students have to earn their way into the classroom with their behavior or skills, it begins with the right of every child to be in the mainstream of education, perhaps with modifications, adaptations, and support. Full inclusion requires teachers to think about all aspects of their classrooms—pedagogy, curriculum, and classroom climate. Crucially, Sapon-Shevin takes on arguments against full inclusion in a section of straight-talking answers to common questions. She agrees with critics that the rhetoric of inclusion has been used to justify eliminating services and “dumping” students with significant educational needs unceremoniously back into the mainstream with little or no support. If full inclusion is properly implemented, however, she argues, it not only clearly benefits those traditionally excluded but enhances the educations and lives of those considered mainstream in myriad ways. Through powerful storytelling and argument, Sapon-Shevin lays out the moral and educational case for not separating kids on the basis of difference.

Appointed by the Board of Trustees of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in 2017, the UUA Commission on Institutional Change served through June 2020. Widening the Circle of Concern: Report of the UUA Commission on Institutional Change represents the culmination of the Commission’s work analyzing structural and systemic racism and white supremacy culture within Unitarian Universalism and makes recommendations to advance long-term cultural and institutional change that redeems the essential promise and ideals of Unitarian Universalism. The members and staff of the UUA Commission on Institutional Change were Chair Rev. Leslie Takahashi, Mary Byron, Cir L’Bert Jr., Rev. Dr. Natalie Fenimore, Dr. Elías Ortega, Caitlin Breedlove, DeReau K. Farrar, and Project Manager Rev. Marcus Fogliano.

In The Widening Circle, Graham Tomlin explores an exhilarating new approach to priesthood. he author suggests that 'priest' is much more than a term to describe certain Christian ministers -- it is a vital category for understanding God's way of blessing his world. This world was made for joy: the joy of God and the joy of creation. But to know that joy, the world needs the divine blessing that is focused in Jesus Christ, the only true high priest. His priestly ministry consists of mediating between God and the world, perfecting that very creation, and then offering this perfected creation back to the God from whom it came. Yet this very ministry is enacted through others. As we explore how this priesthood of Christ has an impact on everyday life, we discover that the human race is chosen to play a priestly role between God and creation. The church is then called out to be a kingdom of priests, enabling humanity to fulfil its divine calling. And, finally, the minister himself or herself -- experiencing as Christ did, both strands of priestly reality, the mundane and the heavenly, the routine and the remarkable, the normal and the numinous -- is called to enable the rest of the Church to play its distinct part. In each case, the part is the means by which the whole becomes all that it is intended to be, in an ever widening circle of divine blessing, so that the world might know the joy for which it was created.

The Widening Circle of Us is personal, political and theological. Peter Francis charts his own ‘widening’ from a privileged beginning with an unquestioning naïve faith, to a liberal understanding of faith and society. He now believes that Christianity is best viewed as a completely non-supernatural ethic for life. The memoir weaves his personal story alongside his passion for the humanity of Jesus and writes about the battles for inclusion that have shaped his life and ministry. It is an honest reflection on his life as a priest in England, Scotland and Wales, including nearly 25 years as Warden of Gladstone’s Library, where his ‘widening’ continues with responding to the Gladstone legacy of historic slavery in the wake of Black Lives Matter.

The Widening Circle of Genocide, the third volume of an award-winning series, combines an encyclopedic summary of knowledge of the subject with annotated citations of literature in each field of study. It includes contributions by R.J. Rummel, Leonard Glick, Vahakn Dadrian, Rosanne Klass, Martin Van Bruinessen, James Dunn, Gabrielle Tyrnauer, Robert Krell, George Kent, Samuel Totten, and a foreword by Irving Louis Horowitz. This volume presents scholarship on a variety of topics, including: Germany's records of the Armenian genocide; little-known cases of contemporary genocide in Afghanistan, East Timor, and of the Kurds; a provocative new interpretation of the psychic scarring of Holocaust survivors; and nongovernmental organizations that have undertaken the beginnings of scholarship on the worldwide problems of genocide. The Widening Circle of Genocide embodies reverence for human life; its goal is the search for new means to prevent genocide. This work is distinguished by its excellence, originality, and depth of its scholarship. The first volume was selected by the American Library Association for its list of "Outstanding Academic Books of 1988-89." It is both compelling reading and an invaluable tool for scholars and students who wish to pursue specific fields of study of genocide. It will also be of interest to political scientists, historians, psychologists, and religion scholars.

The first person to focus attention on Lyme disease, Polly Murray tells the harrowing story of her early efforts to identify what was making her family so sick-- and their battle with the illness over a twenty-year period. In Lyme, Connecticut, in 1965, Polly Murray, her husband, and their four children led an almost picture-perfect life. But Polly began to be plagued by mysterious ailments, and as the rest of her family started to experience similar symptoms, she knew something was terribly wrong. When doctor after doctor failed to explain what was happening to them, Polly was forced to confront disbelief, lack of caring, and, eventually, apathy on the part of the medical establishment, all the while suffering herself. Her personal investigation into the cause of her family's illness, which became as passionate as a detective's, eventually initiated a medical investigation that led to the 1982 discovery by Dr. Willy Burgdorfer of the dangerous bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Polly tells her tale from the viewpoint of a patient who was a pioneer in the medical recognition of Lyme disease. Lyme disease remains a poorly diagnosed, controversial illness. Lyme victims and their families can take hope from Polly's courageous and inspiring story.