When Blood and Bones Cry Out: Journeys Through the Soundscape of Healing and Reconciliation

In this thoughtful discussion of social healing, John Paul Lederach (The Little Book of Conflict Resolution) and his daughter Angela Jill Lederach, a community group conferencing facilitator, explore using new metaphors to better describe and articulate the processes individuals and communities engage in to begin finding wholeness after—or in the midst of—unspeakable violence. Garnering wisdom from local groups in places as far-flung as Liberia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Colombia, and South Bend, Ind., the Lederachs have come to favor musical and circular metaphors for healing rather than the linear, results-oriented models normally used by international aid organizations. The Lederachs urge conceptualizing healing as a Van Morrison song or the sound that reverberates from a Tibetan singing bowl, circling around and sending sound waves multidirectionally through a community. Conversations, stories and poems, and simple gestures like a “cutting-hair ritual” to reintegrate child soldiers in Liberia can start the reconciliation process. Based on deep listening and respect for the people who have suffered the most from violence, this book offers sensitive insights for approaching the space between trauma and forgiveness. (Nov.)