Blog

Join co-author Patricia Rykiel as she discusses her late father's stirring Vietnam War fictional memoir and the unusual journey to publication with producer Guy Meyer, followed by a book signing.

Feeling life is slipping him by, an American agriculturalist heads to Vietnam to try and make a difference in the lives of the people as part of President Johnson's 'Hearts and Minds' campaign. There is just one big problem - there's a war going on.

Eddie joins a small group of civilian advisors chosen to work with local farmers to help make Vietnam once again self-sufficient in rice. He is drawn to the adventure, the challenge, and the opportunity to make a difference, but he is leaving some problems behind.

His story follows the ups and downs of cultural and tropical agriculture training in Washington DC and the Philippines, and then his assignment in the Gia Dinh province just outside Saigon. The stakes increase as the war intensifies and Eddie's connections in the country deepen, providing the backdrop for the cultural, political and personal struggles that unfold.

Date and time

A talk about inclusive global peacebuilding and social justice

A discusion about peace and how it can be built today, involving peacebuilding practitioners including Saskia Binet, Jonathan Cohen and Helen Kezie-Nwoha. The discussion will explore the challenges to peace, and how the impact of AI and climate change will affect future conflicts. This will be followed by a book signing of 'At the Heart of Conflict: Talking Resolution' ed. Cheryl Robson at The Quaker Bookshop.

Saskia Binet is an inclusive peacemaking practitioner currently working as a Middle East North Africa Co-ordinator at the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She primarily focuses on supporting inclusive peace process and women's participation in peacebuilding and peacemaking in Syria and Yemen. Previously, Saskia worked at UN Women, inluding on Women, Peace, and Security in Libya.

Caroline Brooks is an experienced peacebuilding and conflict transformation practitioner. Currently, she serves as a Senior Advisor at Amnesty International, advising on conflict transformation, crisis management, wellbeing, and organizational development. Before joining Amnesty, she was the Syria Programme Manager at International Alert, focusing on multi-track diplomacy and inclusive peace processes. Caroline is also a fellow of the OSCE’s inaugural Women Peace Leaders Programme, which promotes women’s involvement in mediation.

Her career includes work in political and security risk consulting, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Caroline has been deeply involved in Syrian civil society, working with activists, diplomats and communities affected by conflict. She has worked directly with children impacted by the Syria conflict in Lebanon and Turkey.

Jonathan Cohen is Executive Director of Concilation Resources, a post he took up in 2016. Over the past 28 years at Conciliation Resources, Jonathan has supported dialogue and peace-building initiative in contexts including the South of Caucasus, Kashmir, the Philippines, Colombia, Ethiopia, and Papua New Guinea. He is an Associate of the Institute for the Public Understanding of War and Conflict at the Imperial War Museum, a member of the Advisory Board of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London, and a Board Member of the Peace Dividend Initiative.

Helen Kezie-Nwoha is a feminist scholar, peace-builder, and human rights advocate with over two decades of experience advancing gender equality in conflict and post-conflict settings. She is the founder and Lead Researcher at Researchers Without Borders and Former Executive Director of the Women's International Peace Centre. Her work spans Africa and beyond, providing strategic policy advice to regional institutions such as the African Union. She holds a Ph.D. in Women and Gender Studies from Makerere University and has published extensively on feminist peacebuilding, political participation, and transitional justice.

Anjan Sundaram is an acclaimed Indian author, journalist, and academic known for his award-winning memoirs Stringer, Bad News, and Breakup. Regarded as “one of the great reporters of our age” by BBC’s Feargal Keane, his books have garnered attention from figures such as Christiane Amanpour and Jon Stewart.

He contributes regularly to The New York Review of Books and Granta Magazine. Sundaram graduated from Yale University with a degree in mathematics and earned a PhD in journalism from the University of East Anglia. He began his journalism career reporting from Congo and Rwanda for The New York Times and The Associated Press. His third book, Breakup, explores the personal effects of war reporting. He has hosted TV series Coded World and Deciphering India.

'At the Heart of Conflict: Talking Resolution' is a book that is an essential read for those studying conflict resolution, international relations, or working in the field, looking to know more about the lived experiences of UN officials, translators, ambassadors, NGOs and military personnel. This new and critically important book challenges conventional wisdom and asks: Can peace be built by dialogue alone? When is the use of force necessary? Is there cause for hope? With 20 unflinching first-person accounts, this book uniquely gives voice to both sides of the conflict resolution debate.

Date and time

During the long weekend from the 24th to the 26th of May, we are having some events at the bookshop and the Library for the YM visitors:

"Quaker Quicks: Meet the Authors" with Rhiannon Grant, Joanna Godfrey Wood, Jennifer Kavanagh, Eleanor Nesbitt, Geoffrey Durham, and Kate McNally – 3:30 pm - 24 May

"Quaker Voices on Mental Health" meet the author in the bookshop, with Rosemary Roberts – 1.15 pm - 25 May

"Dining with Diplomats" Book Launch with Judith Baker in the library – 1 to 1.45 pm - 26 May

Please, come along to say hi to some Quaker authors.

See you then

The Ella Baker School of Organising will be introducing Changemakers, radical strategies for social justice organising at the Friends Meeting House in London on Wednesday 21st May.

Join the book's authors and organisers from across different social justice movements to dig into how we become more effective Changemakers from 6 pm (doors at 5.45) until 7.30 pm in the Library at the Friends Meeting House, before heading to The Quaker Bookshop to continue the conversation (and buy the book) with refreshments 7.30 - 8.30 pm. 

Will be a 10% discount on the books sold on the night.

The panel will include:

• Emmanuelle Andrews - a Human Rights, Social Justice, Abolition and Queer Liberation Campaigner with particular expertise in the over-policing of racialised minority communities. Emmanuelle specialises in political education, community organising, and strategising creative public and grassroots campaigns.
• Taranjit Chana - a grassroots community activist fighting for liberation, justice and equity for all. A life long changemaker.
• David Braniff Herbert - an award-winning Equality & Trade Union Organiser, David is currently the National Organiser for LGBTQ+ at the National Education Union. His focus is on developing volunteer-led strategies, mass mobilisation campaigns, and liberation structures.
• Jane Holgate - author of ‘Arise: Power, Strategy and Union Resurgence’ and more recently 'Changemakers: Radical Strategies for Social Movement Organisers'. Jane is a long-time trade unionist and community activist, and Professor of Work and Employment Relations at the University of Leeds. Jane is a strong advocate of peer-to-peer teaching and political education, and co-founded the Ella Baker School of Organising.
• John Page - John is a long-term community, trade union and anti-racist organiser, and a founder-member of the Ella Baker School of Organising. He is co-author of the book: 'Changemakers: Radical Strategies for Social Movement organising'. When not organising, John is an open water swimmer, and plants trees at every opportunity.

Together we will explore: key themes within the book; how those themes interact with the knowledge and experience of organisers from different social justice movements; and how we go beyond protesting to resolving wrongs.

Join us in London on Wednesday, 21st May at the Friends Meeting House , Euston Road.

Doors open at 5:45 pm, with a 6 pm formal start, followed by refreshments and informal networking from 7.30 - 8.30pm in The Quaker Bookshop, Friends Meeting House London, 173-177 Euston Road.

What a wonderful time we had! It was an unforgettable event filled with lovely people and great energy. We are grateful to have been a part of it!

A huge thank you to John Page for organizing everything. He created a special event, and we’re all lucky to have shared it.

"In ‘Riverbank of Grief’ I explore predicaments of the human condition through artwork and writing.  I am dealing with quandaries and opposing forces in illustrating a journey that can lead from darkness towards the light." Margot Elke Schiemann

Margot Elke Schiemann is an artist, psychotherapist, and group analyst who divides her time between making art and her private practice.

Exhibition
Friends House
173-177 Euston Road
London NW1 2BJ
20th of May to 20th of July Open Mon -Fri 8:30 am to 5 pm

Email: margotschiemann@gmail.com

www.margotelkeschiemann.com

Meet the Artist
Saturday, May 24, 3:00–7:00 pm (YM weekend)
Thursday, May 29, 2:00–5:00 pm

We are delighted to announce the launch of Jennifer Kavanagh’s new book, Thread of Life.

Thread of Life is a moving portrait of the 20th century, told through the lives of three generations of Jewish women. From the tragedy of the Riga Holocaust to a life spanning 102 years, their stories weave a rich tapestry of memory, identity, and resilience.

Jennifer Kavanagh traces her family’s journey across continents and through history, exploring themes of motherhood, music, exile, and belonging. A deeply personal yet universal tale of love, loss, and legacy.

Date and time

We are happy to announce that the next monthly hour of reading at the bookshop will be on April 10th.

During one hour, one of our volunteers will bring the magic of children's books to life.

Come along and enjoy exciting stories that inspire a love of reading and help make new friends!

Don't miss that!!! 

Friends House, 173-177 Euston Road,  London NW1 2BJ

We are pleased to announce the second Mark Russ book launch in our Library, followed by Q&A, signing, and meet-the-author at our bookshop. This time with the new book "The Spirit of Freedom".

The Spirit of Freedom offers accessible, useful, and life-affirming theology rooted in Quaker spirituality and Biblical wisdom. Collecting together short and inspiring essays on speaking of God, worshiping God, and being God’s witnesses in the world, this book offers a spacious and relevant Quaker theology from a Christian perspective. It is an excellent companion piece to Mark Russ's first book, Quaker Shaped Christianity.

Praise for The Spirit of Freedom

• "Mark Russ’s engaging and idiosyncratic blog has become a book, and it’s a delight to revisit these pieces again. They cohere perfectly into a Quaker handbook that has as much to offer newcomers as it has to seasoned Friends. Original, insightful, and beautifully written, this book has all the hallmarks of an instant classic." Geoffrey Durham, author of What Do Quakers Believe?, Being a Quaker and The Spirit of the Quakers
• "The Spirit of Freedom is a rich and stimulating book that expresses the best of the Quaker spirit: a listening spirit, open to difference and to change. In this book Mark Russ offers an extraordinarily wide-ranging exploration of key Quaker, Christian and human concepts. He brings fresh, and refreshing, insights to some of the much-loved Quaker Advices and Queries and talks of the need to ask better questions; of God as relationship; of the different kinds of silence; of evil. Wearing his learning lightly, Mark uses Biblical and historical references, but the strength of the book is its reliance on his own experience and insights. His very personal approach, as a gay Christian Quaker, invites and challenges each of us as unique human beings to allow the Light to shine on our own failings, find our own ministry, and express it in our worship and daily life." Jennifer Kavanagh, author of Practical Mystics, The World is our Cloister, A Little Book of Unknowing etc.

Date and time

Hosted by Quaker Bookshop and Quaker Life, we now offer a monthly hour of reading with one of our volunteers, who will bring the magic of children's books to life.

Come along and enjoy exciting stories that inspire a love of reading and help make new friends!

The next date will be the 22st of November. Don't miss that!!! 

Friends House, 173-177 Euston Road,  London NW1 2BJ