In addition to these essays by editor Sam M. Intrator, this book contains 9 pp of Parker J. Palmer Resources and Bibliography, 1 pp on Intrator and 6 pp of brief biographies on the 31 essay contributors.

Living the Questions is a celebration of Parker J. Palmer’s long and distinguished career. It explores the dynamic interplay between the inner life of one’s spirit and the outer life of one’s work. The 31 contributors cover a very wide range of professions: university presidents, scientists, physicians, religious leaders, businessmen, business consultants, public school educators, college educators, philanthropists, and community organizers. They all bear witness to the depth, breadth, and reach of Palmer’s work. All of them have been personally touched by Palmer’s courage and determination to live a life in harmony with the ideas and principles he has written about and his candor in acknowledging his own flaws. These essays and stories are intimate and they shed light on some of the most important topics of our time – living an integrated (or undivided) life, teaching and learning for transformation, creating community and contributing to non-violent change.

These active people have each had the benefit of working in a “circle of trust” (that Palmer describes in book 109.) The experience for all of them has been very positive, often revitalizing and transforming their lives. Reading their brief stories challenges all of us to take a journey inward and a journey outward, preparing ourselves to offer right action and leadership that comes from living in ways that are authentic to our inner truths. Prior to the essays, Sam Intrator gives a 43-page biography “A Journey of Questions: the Life and Work of Parker J. Palmer.” Palmer’s road was long and hard, with some times of deep depression, but he found his “inner teacher” and he has “let his life speak” – eloquently and profoundly, in talks, retreats, essays, books and “circle of trust.” Our lives are often wrested, tugged, and yanked. How can we respond? “We live in a gap, between the way things are and the way they might be. There is no easy solution. There never has been and never will be. But we must learn to stand in this gap, faithfully holding the tension and negotiating between what is and what is possible.” (The italics are Palmer’s.) His work and life have had an exceptionally profound and transformative effect on very many people. The stories of some of them as told in this book strongly attest to that. As I said above about book 109, I highly recommend this book and I strongly feel that “circles of trust” are a great idea. Read books 109 and 110 and see for yourself why I feel this way so strongly.