The Stories and People in This Book

Sometimes people and situations are identified by full name, position, and organization. In such cases, these individuals have granted us permission to use their experiences as teaching tales for circle practice.

Other people are identified by first name only or merely by gender or profession. In these cases, their identities have been disguised so that their story could be told without divulging details of the actual situation. We include these stories to illustrate important lessons we have learned and have altered the contexts to honor the promise of confidentiality that governs many circle settings.

We give thanks for all these stories. We share them in great respect for the tender, difficult, and profound moments of circle that illuminate those of us who sit at the rim.

Story is the sweet: nectar of language. Story is the crystallizing of thought, turning it into something digestible, sweet on the heart, even when the details are hard to bear. Story is the way we dribble sweetness over the often harsh realities of life’s everyday grind…rolling what happens on the tongue until we discover the nugget of meaning, humor, heartbreak, and insight.

Christina Baldwin, Storycatcher, pp. 10-11