The Teen Talking Circle Project

 

books

Since 1997, over 25,000 copies of our books and videos have been sold and are currently being used as textbooks in many schools, universities and institutions.

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the Art of Facilitating Teen Talking Circles - A Handbook

Speaking and Listening from the Heart: The Art of Facilitating Teen Talking Circles (dsistas press, 2005), by Linda Wolf and Neva Welton, is a must-have guide for beginning and seasoned facilitators, teachers, social service providers, parents, counselors and anyone working with youth serving organizations, or who care about the health and emotional well being of young people. Based on the work of the non-profit organization, The Teen Talking Circle Project, and its mother organization, Daughters Sisters Project, Speaking and Listening from the Heart contains nearly two decades of lessons-learned through facilitating and participating in weekly Girls and Guys Groups and mixed GenderTalks workshops.

Visually and emotionally engaging, and deeply informative, Speaking and Listening from the Heart contains a rich array of stories, interviews, photographs, exercises, resources, and invaluable information for starting and running Teen Talking Circles. Included in the 150-page book is a foreword by Jean Kilbourne, creator of the Killing Us Softly video series and author of Can't Buy My Love, and a conclusion by Dr. Carol Gilligan, author of In a Different Voice. Also included are interviews and quotes from community leaders, such as: Leah Green, founder of the Compassionate Listening Project; Michael Meade, mythologist and author of Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart; Jackson Katz, founder of Mentors in Violence Prevention and creator of Tough Guise; and Paul Kivel, founder of the Oakland Men's Project and author of Boys Will be Men.

Speaking and Listening from the Heart is not only an invaluable resource for anyone who works with or wants to work with teens, it is also a timely and critical message about the importance of providing youth with safe places to explore their lives and express themselves openly, while keeping the lines of communication between generations, genders and cultures open, honest, compassionate, and real.

Daughters of the Moon, Sisters of the Sun

Daughters of the Moon, Sisters of the Sun: Young Women and Mentors on the Transition to Womanhood (New Society Publisher, 1997) has sold near 20,000 copies. It is about the courage it takes to face and change self-destructive thinking and behavior, to live with unanswered questions, to persevere against odds, to accept oneself, to tell the truth, to stay connected, to forgive, to say no, to change habits, to be passionate, to stand up for what one believes in, to finish school, to be friends, to stay sober, to face death, to love, to care, and to be compassionate.

It is about becoming a woman, choosing a spiritual path, being a feminist, being an athlete, living through anorexia and bulimia, attempted suicide, depression, self-discovery, media influence, child abuse, molestation, drugs, pop culture, peer pressure, body image, teen pregnancy, teen motherhood, sustainable economics, sexuality, bisexuality, love, health, marriage, minority experience, and interracial relationships.

It is about living in the web of life from the female perspective, and about history and the women who have struggled for equality, opportunity, education, and inclusion. Pollyanna does not appear in this book, but neither does Ophelia. The girls and women whose voices enrich these pages show others that they are not alone, that they need not be erased by their challenges, and are capable of making their own choices and being empowered by the experience. The book is about seeing that the issues girls deal with stem from much larger problems in our world, and must be worked on simultaneously.

Global Uprising: Confronting the Tyrannies of the 21st Century - Stories from a New Generation of Activists

Global Uprising (New Society Publishers, 2001)
By Neva Welton and Linda Wolf, has sold nearly 8,000 copies and is being used as a textbook in many high schools and universities.

There's a growing new global movement for justice today, and it's largely driven by a new generation of activists. Young people from the US and around the world are standing up for peace, the environment, and for social justice - and they're demanding to be heard.

Global Uprising documents this new youth movement through compelling first person narratives, interviews with both new and seasoned activists, poster art, poetry, and striking black and white photographs. Issues addressed include globalization and economic inequity, racism and women's rights, police brutality, media control, sweatshop labor and fair trade, the prison industrial complex and the criminalization of youth, old-growth forest destruction, and biotechnology. Older activists and world leaders tell their own stories, offering historical perspective and context.

Visually and emotionally powerful, Global Uprising captures the spirit and passion of youth activism, honoring young people's power to effect serious change. It will have wide appeal to younger people and to a range of others who care about the state of the world today - and tomorrow.

videos

Daughters Sisters/Teen Talking Circle Documentary DVD

Many new facilitators have asked us how to get girls or guys to come to the talking circles in the first place. For us, it has not been difficult, because the pilot project is in a small community and the project has been happening for 10 years and has a strong reputation. However, it's harder for many other people to really be able to describe and explain what Teen Talking Circles are about.

This DVD is our answer for new facilitators. It contains not only documentary footage of Girls Group, Guys Group and GenderTalks, but also interviews with facilitators and participants, board members and others! It's something new facilitators can show a group of kids, so they can begin to understand what a Teen Talking Circle is and how they can benefit from group.

We have also published this DVD as a succinct, yet very representative way, to show potential donors what we are all about. The Teen Talking Circle Project is dependent on donations from those who support our work. Please contact us if you would like to order a DVD to give to potential donors.

>click here to purchase books and videos