This 2014  PAPERBACK EDITION  includes  TWO NEW FEATURES : (1) A chapter-length  INTRODUCTION  in which Palmer explores his political experience since the book first came out in 2011, including a new way to understand "the great divide" in our political life. (2) A detailed  DISCUSSION GUIDE  with links to online resources -- including 40 brief video interviews with the author -- to facilitate more dialogue across political lines of the sort the book has inspired since it was published. ~   HOPE FOR AMERICAN DEMOCRACY IN AN ERA OF DEEP DIVISIONS   ~    In Healing the Heart of Democracy , Parker J. Palmer quickens our instinct to seek the common good and gives us the tools to do it. This timely, courageous and practical work -- intensely personal as well as political -- is not about them , "those people" in Washington D.C., or in our state capitals, on whom we blame our political problems. It's about us , "We the People," and what we can do in everyday settings like families, neighborhoods, classrooms, congregations and workplaces to resist divide-and-conquer politics and restore a government "of the people, by the people, for the people." In the same compelling, inspiring prose that has made him a bestselling author , Palmer explores five "habits of the heart" that can help us restore democracy's foundations as we nurture them in ourselves and each other: (1) An understanding that we are all in this together. (2) An appreciation of the value of "otherness." (3) An ability to hold tensions in life-giving ways. (4) A sense of personal voice and agency. (5) A capacity to create community.  Healing the Heart of Democracy is an eloquent and empowering call for "We the People" to reclaim our democracy.  Publishers Weekly , in a *Starred Review*, said "This beautifully written book deserves a wide audience that will benefit from discussing it." And the online journal  Democracy & Education  called it "one of the most important books of the early 21st Century." "He bravely takes on the current political climate, and this book provides therapy for the American body politic. His insights are heart-deep: America gains by living with tension and differences; we can help reclaim public life by actions as simple as walking down the street instead of driving. Hope's hardly cheap, but history is made up of what Palmer calls 'a million invisible acts of courage and the incremental gains that came with them.' This beautifully written book deserves a wide audience that will benefit from discussing it." ―(A "Starred Review" from Publishers Weekly, 8 August 2011) “Healing the Heart of Democracy is a hopeful book that lifts up and hallows the heart as a source of inner sight. Inspired by the efforts to understand and undergird democracy by Abraham Lincoln, Alexis de Tocqueville, Rosa Parks, and others; the author sends us on our way rejoicing with the small portion of hope that he has planted in our minds and souls.” ―(Spirituality & Practice) “There is a deep and disturbing cloud hanging over the United States. It is a malaise that is leading to cynicism and self-centeredness. The antidote is to be found in the healing of the heart of our democracy, so that we might emerge from this private focus to a public one, which recognizes our interdependence. I know of no better guide to discerning the problem and the solutions, than this book by Parker Palmer. It is a prophetic book, one that needs to be taken with all due seriousness, if we are to emerge from our malaise stronger and healthier than before.” ―(Englewood Review of Books , 2011) * NEWS FLASH *  Healing the Heart of Democracy  called  "one of the most important books of the early 21st Century"  for those who care about democracy. ( Democracy & Education) * NEWS FLASH *  Healing the Heart of Democrac y  named one of the  "Best Books of 2011"  on contemplation and social activism. ( Spirituality & Practice ) *  NEWS FLASH *  Parker J. Palmer named one of  "25 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World"  -- people who "don't just think out loud but who walk their talk on a daily basis." ( The Utne Reader) * A Starred Review from Publishers Weekly *  Palmer's...newest was six years in the making. He bravely takes on the current political climate , with its atrophy of citizen participation, the ascendance of an oligarchy that shapes politics, and the substitution of vituperation for thoughtful public discussion. It's a tall order that became even taller because Palmer had to climb out of a pit of depression -- his constitutional proclivity -- to do so. But wrestling with essential questions of public life became therapeutic, and this book provides therapy for the American body politic. Palmer's use of acute 19th-century observers of American life and character -- Tocqueville, Lincoln -- as well as his use of anecdotes and lessons from his own long career provide context and tonic. His insights are heart-deep : America gains by living with tension an