Be the Change - Press Release for Working for Peace

The following release is provided for our media friends. For additional information, email publicity@impactpublishers.com.

Are You Ready to

"Be The Change You Want to See in the World"?

"Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." It's an old theme, but it may have new meaning today. Violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, Sudan, Uzbekistan, even in our own streets. Yet, if peace is to "begin with me," what am I to do? A new book may have the answers.

Do you wish you could work more effectively for social change? Do you have the passion to be more of an activist, but need a confidence boost? Are you looking high and low for ideas on how you and/or your group can have more impact on the peace issues that matter most to you?

"There is more to being a successful peace worker than understanding the issues and knowing how to prepare a press release, run a meeting, or set up a speaker system," says Rachel M. MacNair, editor of Working For Peace: A Handbook Of Practical Psychology And Other Tools (Impact Publishers, July). "You and your group have to be well organized and know what you're talking about. And if you’ve been in the work a long time, you know how important it is to get practical ideas from those who study how to do it well." Dr. MacNair produced the book in collaboration with the national social action group, Psychologists for Social Responsibility.

This insightful anthology offers a wealth of personal experiences and proven psychological principles to help channel your ideals into action. Forty contributing authors share their own experiences, along with tips on rallying yourself and others to work for a more peaceful world.

Readers can skip around to sections of special interest and relevance, choosing and combining the ideas and techniques which best fit their needs, abilities, situation, and priorities.

Highlights include:

An inspirational Foreword by Arun Gandhi, Mohandas Gandhi's fifth grandson and Director of the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence.
A checklist of social actions to help you assess your own interests and skills, choose the most appropriate tasks, and nurture self-assurance in undertaking them in Barry Childers' BUILDING CONFIDENCE FOR SOCIAL ACTION
Pointers on coping with stressful emotions in Helen Margulies Mehr's OVERCOMING ANGER AND ANXIETY
Strategies for improving your mood and increasing your energy in Gerald D. Oster's OVERCOMING HELPLESSNESS AND DISCOURAGEMENT
Ways to combat commitment exhaustion in Christina Maslach and Mary E. Gomes' OVERCOMING BURNOUT
Suggestions for nurturing the next generation of peace activists in Susan M. Sisk and Larissa G. Duncan's PARENTING IN THE PEACEFUL HOME
Steps for dealing with the risks of fighting for change in Robert E. Alberti's WORKING FOR PEACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE? WHO’S WATCHING?
Methods for motivating others to work with you in Donelson R. Forsyth's EFFECTIVE GROUP MEETINGS AND DECISION MAKING
Approaches to transforming conflict in Roxanne Manning and Jane Marantz Connor's NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION

From the details of getting your message across to the big picture of changing behavior for a better world, Working for Peace is designed as a working handbook of information, seasoned expertise, and skill-building guidance.

Noted international peacemaker Dr. Helen Caldicott says, "Working for Peace is filled with practical steps that every person can take to become a doctor to the planet."

"Though the examples here are geared to peace, I believe the book also will be useful to those working for other causes," adds editor MacNair. "The basic principles of good organization and effective communication remain essentially the same, regardless of the issue with which you are dealing."

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Working for Peace is available at online and local bookstores nationwide or directly from Impact Publishers, P.O. Box 6016, Atascadero, CA 93423-6016, www.impactpublishers.com, or phone 1-800-246-7228.