New & Recent Books

Small-town USA, entering the ’70s. A childless couple, Gene and Molly, adopted a strange, wounded child of the stars they call Cory. Molly is the main narrative voice – a passionate nurse fighting for her own extraordinary child. Cory is gentle, vibrant, excitable, endlessly curious and loving – and both joy and danger comes from his otherworldly origins. In Our Child of Two Worlds, a figure from the past brings uncomfortable truths, and Gene and Molly face the terrifying loss … Read More

Quakers and their Meeting Houses Chris Skidmore A highly illustrated and fascinating account of the architecture and historical development of the Quaker meeting house, from the foundation of the movement to the twenty-first century, drawing largely on examples from the UK but including some from colonial America. www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/books/id/55131/

“Apart from being a fascinating snapshot of London in the 21st century, it’s a valuable social commentary.” –Terry Waite In 1861, the great journalist and social advocate Henry Mayhew published London Labour and the London Poor, an oral history of those living and working on the streets of Victorian London. Nothing on this scale had been attempted before. On the surface, the streets of London in 1861 and in 2019 are entirely different places. But dig just a little and … Read More

Maggie Allder returns with a new novel set in the future where the new normal may not be all it seems… Daisy lives happily in a care home with twelve other children, sheltered from a dangerous world of sickness and war. As everything finally returns to normal, she and her friends begin to explore the city beyond the Water Meadows where she has grown up. But while there are exciting new experiences, there are also people who are quick to … Read More

“It’s a wonderfully emotional, heart-warming journey of what it really means to be a parent” –The Los Angeles Times In this magical, bewitching debut, Molly and Gene Myers’ marriage is on the brink of collapse. Then a child arrives, with a remarkable appearance. Will he bring them together, or tear their whole world apart? Molly and Gene Myers were happy, until tragedy blighted their hopes of children. During the years of darkness and despair, they each put their marriage in … Read More

The dying sayings of early Quakers Right from the start, ‘the people called Quakers’ recorded each other’s ‘dying sayings’. This book tells how, happening upon some of these by accident, a 21st century Friend learned of their speakers’ passion for equality and truth. Originally published at a time when religious dissent was fiercely discouraged, the accounts presented here give inspiration to anyone working for justice and peace in today’s world. An adult educator by profession, Jane Mace has a persistent … Read More

For three centuries, members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) have regularly met to worship in extended times of silence, punctuated by vocal testimony. Anyone can share. This practice reflects the Quaker rejection of hierarchy and the belief that God can speak through any person, regardless of gender, race, or class. But in the late nineteenth century, revivalism swept through America, and some Quaker meetings began to hire pastors to preach and teach for the benefit of new members—a … Read More

The Book of Revelation as Resistance Revelation speaks to the reality that we are caught in the fray of cosmic conflict. We are guilty. We’ve already been contaminated. But it’s not too late for us to exit empire and enter the kingdom. We are yet both victim and victimizer. We have healing work to do, and we must take responsibility for the ways in which we have benefited from and been complicit with the religion of empire. This is the … Read More

to the water signs who made me to the loves & lovers who’ve held me to every version of my self I am trying to love  this is how I feel the world I was raised in a house of water is a gentle rainfall of words, each verse the soft whisper of an old friend, sharing their most patient observations, deepest longings, and wisest insights. yes, I am here in this world  Read these poems. Inhale each line. Find hope … Read More

A Personal Exploration Denham’s internal exploration, aided by poetry and letters and images, offers us a portrait of one man’s attempt to practice revolutionary love in response to murder. Wrestling with grief over the killing of a boy he loved as a son, Denham confronts his own impulses to condemn the ones who murdered him. With the courage to perform “open-heart surgery” on himself, Denham returns again and again to restorative justice as the only way forward. A solemn read, … Read More