You Are Changing the World

by David LaMotte

In You are Changing the World Whether You Like It or Not, David LaMotte challenges some deeply held, though seldom examined, ideas we have about how large societal changes happen and what our own roles in those changes can and should be. Drawing on stories from his own work and interviews with others in Guatemala, India, South Africa, Australia, Palestine, the United States, and Bosnia, LaMotte methodically challenges narratives that keep us immobile in the face of problems that confront communities, nations, and a world. You are Changing the World is challenging, encouraging and inspiring. In an accessible, story-based style, LaMotte looks at questions of daily vocation, helping us to discern both our potential to have an impact and how we go about getting started. Anyone who wants to live a life that matters will find something of value here.

233 pages, Paperback

Published July 25, 2023

Reviews

[Shelly Wemhoener · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous book! It explores how we all naturally influence people and events around us and what it means to truly care for and respect humanity. David is a special human in my view and anyone who takes the time to learn from him is enriched for it. And the learning in this book is very accessible and interesting - not inflated or complicated in the presentation. It's like having a conversation with him!

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

If enough people read this, and then follow where it takes them, it could become the most important book of the coming years. David LaMotte is a superior musician and singer/songwriter, a brilliant observer of humankind, and a soul gentle and fearless, and a brilliant man.. His books lead you into that world. Yet it is a straightforward, common sense and easy read, if one that demands attention,.

A gentle Quaker with with a passion for people who struggle, LaMotte is no starry-eyed dreamer, but a down-to-earth soul with creative insight for how and where to make some things better, with some of the simplest changes. His writing is (as he is) tough, common-sense, straightforward, and honest. This is an important book. Yet this is a common sense, accessible, attainable work for those of us who are ordinary people. We ARE changing the world...'how' and 'where' are the questions. The book is a great read for any individual. It would also be moving and useful for study groups, classrooms, churches, Scout Troops, mission agencies, benevolent org.'s, and agencies working for change. It is accessible and has at the end helpful and prompts for self-analysis and planning. Read this book.

[Jodi Ingersoll Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can we look at the chaos and hopeless divisions in our world and somehow find purpose?

This book helps me to understand that it is the narratives that we must change in our own hearts to allow for impactful change.

Heroes cannot succeed without community support, and so we all have a role to play, if we choose to.

I find myself reading, highlighting, sharing and repeating. There is much to discuss, much to learn, and assumptions of my own that need to be unpacked.

But the hope I feel grows stronger while working through my experience in each chapter.

May this help you and yours in deciding your role to play.

[Hansen Wendlandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is clear that David took such care with this expanded version of his book, but he never departed from the simplicity, sincerity, and natural welcome of his voice and personality. He is sharing a realistic and approachable invitation to a deeper way of active living and contemplation. With grace, he quiets the false equivalencies that mire moral controversies. It is a book that draws one to community, humility, and growth. If only it came with a soundtrack of David’s music!