New & Recent Books

A Language for the Inward Landscape: Wisdom from the Quaker Tradition by Brian Drayton and William P. Taber, Jr. As Quakers expressed and reflected upon their experience of life under the guidance of the spirit of Christ, they developed a rich vocabulary to describe those experiences. This vocabulary played an important role in Quaker spiritual formation and community life from the beginning of the movement in 1650, and continues today as modern seekers wrestle with describing their experiences. When Bill … Read More

By Nancy L. Haines Illustrated by Anne E. G. Nydam How can children work cooperatively to make decisions? Approved! A Story About Quaker Meeting for Business tells of a group of children who want to donate the money they earned selling hot dogs at their Quaker meeting. The story uses simple, clear language and charming artwork to introduce Quaker process, highlighting •The role of the clerk and recording clerk •Reporting to meeting for business •Participating in spiritual discernment •Identifying the … Read More

by Marcelle Martin Our Life is Love describes the transformational spiritual journey of the first Quakers, who turned to the Light of Christ within and allowed it to be their guide. Many Friends today use different language, but are still called to make the same journey. In our time people seeking deeper access to the profound teachings of Christianity want more than just beliefs, they want direct experience. Focusing on ten elements of the spiritual journey, this book is a … Read More

translated by Emma Condori Mamani edited by: Angelina Conti, Cara Curtis, C. Wed Daniels, Harriet Hart, Sarah Katreen Hoggatt, Evelyn Jadin, John Epur Lomuria, Emma Condori Mamani, Katrina MQuail, and Rachel Ann Miller Este libro celebra, critica, cuestiona, y refleja sobre la experiencia de la fe cuaquera. Esta coleccion de escritura y arte grafico fue creada por adolescentes y jovenes adultos cuaqueros de todo el mundo y de toda la amplia gama teologica y cultural de la Sociedad Religiosa de … Read More

by Jacqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle, Michael Long A new biography for middle school ages and up… “We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers” — Bayard Rustin To many, the civil rights movement brings to mind protests, marches, boycotts, and freedom rides. They often think of people like Martin Luther King, Jr. or Rosa Parks. They seldom think of Bayard Rustin. Raised by his Quaker grandmother to believe in the value of every human being, Bayard made trouble wherever … Read More

by Jennifer Kavanagh What if the facts on which we base our lives are shown to be unreliable? What if our expectations are confounded? What if we let go of those assumptions and expectations? What if we let go of our familiar, habitual ways of thinking? What if we let go of the very need to know? Unknowing is at the centre of spiritual life. It is only by creating a space in which anything can happen that we allow … Read More

by Jennifer Kavanagh This is Quaker Jennifer Kavanagh’s first novel. B is not a child of his time. As an outsider, he hides his secrets well. Freedom is all he dreams of. But when it comes at last, it is in the most unexpected way – and at a considerable cost. Roundfire Books, an imprint of John Hunt Publishing 2015 149 pp. ISBN: 978-1782798842 Endorsements “I think the book is wonderful. Vivid and absorbing and thought-provoking. Nor did I find … Read More

by Eileen Flanagan At age forty-nine, Eileen Flanagan had an aching feeling that she wasn’t living up to her potential—or her youthful ideals. A former Peace Corps volunteer who’d once loved the simplicity of living in a mud hut in Botswana, she now had too many e-mails in her inbox and a basement full of stuff she didn’t need. Increasingly worried about her children’s future on a warming planet, she felt unable to make a difference—until she joined a band … Read More

by Douglas Gwyn A well-known Quaker historian explores the qualities of Quaker faith and practice that contribute to living sustainably in the world today. He explores such paradoxes as equality and community, unity and differentiation, integrity and personal discernment, and other aspects of life that Quakers have worked to bring into balance through their 350-year history. How have Quakers learned to create the kind of individual and community life that can prepare us to live fully and responsibly into a … Read More

by Ann Trueblood Raper A Quaker Courtship is an intimate, endearing story of love and a tantalizing glimpse of the life, key leaders and organizations among Quakers in 1922, revealed in letters, photographs and telegrams exchanged almost daily by Paul Furnas and Betty Walter as they met, courted and planned to marry. Paul and Betty were Quakers from different branches of Friends: the Furnases were Orthodox and the Walters were Hicksite. Their own courtship coincided with an effort among young … Read More