Jacob Z. Hess is a Mormon, a community psychologist, and a devoted conservative, while Phil Neisser is an atheist, a leftist, and a college professor. Yet in 2009, after meeting at an NCDD conference, they embarked on a two-year conversation about the issues that divide them. The result is “You’re not as Crazy as I Thought,” an entertaining dialogue about power, government, media, religion, morality, gender roles, sexual orientation, race, and more. Drawing on the latest debates in social and political theory, Hess and Neisser ... (continue)

Written and self-published by Sami Sunchild of the Peaceful World Foundation in 2008 and 2011, this is a short, readable, simple and lively manual for holding meaningful circle conversations in public places where traveler’s gather. The impetus for the manual comes from the idea of turning the tourist industry into a conscious vehicle of social transformation by systematically inviting people to host conversations in tourist centers. The booklet, which can be purchased on the Peace Arts website, includes “Six Ingredients of a Good Conversation” which focuses ... (continue)

Bereavement Support Groups: Breathing Life into Stories of the Dead is a must-read for therapists, grief counselors, facilitators, and anyone who has lost a loved one. This book fills the gap between the challenges to conventional grief psychology and the practice of bereavement counseling. The deceased person has often been left behind in counseling conversations, requiring the bereaved to distance themselves from honoring memories that could soothe their heartache. Ironically, the stories about the dead person have not featured prominently in the grief experience. The ... (continue)

In this book, you’ll find stories to inspire you to initiate Healing Conversations with your elders and dying loved ones. Questions and conversation starters are also provided, to help you know what to say and do. The handbook section will guide you, step-by-step, as you engage in these new conversations. They will open your heart, give you a better understanding of loved ones, ensure that you have the conversations you need and want to have. You will find peace and have no regrets and so will your loved ones. (continue)

In this 2004 book, Ken and Mary Gergen of the Taos Institute present an account of social constructionist thought that enables students, colleagues and practitioners – as well as those who are simply curious – to gain a basic understanding and appreciation of the drama and constructionist ideas in action – in organizations, psychotherapy, education, conflict resolution, social research, and everyday life. Published as part of the Taos Institute‘s Focus Book Series, a book series designed to provide reader-friendly, cutting edge, low cost resources to change agents ... (continue)

Vets4Vets is a non-partisan organization dedicated to helping Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans to heal from the psychological injuries of war through the use of peer support. Our primary goal is to help Iraq and Afghanistan-era veterans understand the value of peer support and to regularly use peer support to express their emotions, manage their challenges and ease their reintegration into society. Our vision is that anytime a veteran needs to talk with someone who really understands, a local Vets4Vets peer support group is available at no ... (continue)

Amanda Kathryn Roman of the Citizens in Charge Foundation and Joan Blades of MoveOn.org and MomsRising are collaborating to launch a new and exciting project to promote civil conversations: www.LivingRoomConversations.org. It is an open-source project that provides a model for respectful conversations among friends & friends of friends around political issues that are typically polarizing. (continue)

A documentary is available featuring a several-day-long dialogue process held in Nigeria in October 2010. 200 Muslim and Christian youth met in a safe place in Nigeria for several days of face-to-face, in-depth dialogue experiences. The women and men discovered their equal, shared humanity and that "an enemy is one whose story we have not heard." It was part of the 2nd International Conference on Youth and Interfaith Communication in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. (continue)

The following text by Parker J. Palmer is excerpted from the Center for Courage & Renewal website at www.couragerenewal.org. This group communication method invented by the Quakers in the 1660′s protects individual identity and integrity while drawing on the wisdom of other people. People who wish to make significant use of the Clearness Committee process are urged to read Chapter VIII, “Living the Questions,” in Parker J. Palmer’s A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2009). There you will ... (continue)

USARiseUp.com has launched two online dialogues on race, and you are invited to join the conversation: The National Collegiate Dialogue on Race Relations at www.usariseup.com/category/department/national-collegiate-dialogue Race Relations in Your City at www.usariseup.com/publishers-note/join-town-hall-discussion-about-race-relations-your-city? The website has a monthly online magazine with several departments, covering a variety of topics and interests designed to help us celebrate our commonalities, better understand our differences and create a comfortable space to address those things that divide us. Their writers represent the ethnic groups that make up America; and their visitors ... (continue)