The Little Book of Conflict Transiformation: Clear Articulation of the guiding Principles by a Pioneer in the Field

Abstract

Writing a Little Book was much harder than it appears. I had help along the way. First, I want to extend a warm and deeply appreciative thank you to Howard Zehr for conceptualizing this Little Book Series and encouraging my involvement. More importantly, he had the first crack at helping me move from a verbose text to one that got to the point. I appreciate the excellent editing and sharpening that this text received from Phyllis Pellman Good. It would not read this well without her advice and suggestions. I had a great boost on the computer-generated graphics from my good friends at the Consortium on Conflict Resolution from the University of Colorado, particularly from Heidi and Guy Burgess. Of particular note, I had the wonderful opportunity of having the Master’s students from the Kroc Institute’s (Notre Dame) class of 2002-2003 read my first draft and spend a full day of class improving and clarifying the concepts. Their ideas and suggestions are found throughout. I would like to extend a big note of gratitude to John and Gina Martin-Smith for the use of their house in Nederland, Colorado, where I got to watch the aspens turn from green to yellow at 8,500 feet as I wrote this text. Finally, I recognize that none of my writing would take place without the patient support and encouragement of my family, especially Wendy, with whom I have had many coffees while discussing the ideas found in this book and how to say them better.