Changing Course: Windcall and the Art of Renewal

by Susan Wells

Innovative program helped cure compassion overload Seeing the need to help non-profit leaders sustain their vision, balance and resilience, lifelong activists and philanthropists Albert and Susan Wells launched an experiment in the late 1980s. The couple converted their small Montana ranch into a place where community activists could address their symptoms of burnout, restore their energy and creativity, and return to their jobs with fresh hope and commitment. They called this inspiring, groundbreaking place Windcall. In Changing Windcall and the Art of Renewal , Susan Wells narrates the couple's journey as they grow Windcall into a highly respected and wildly successful endeavor. Aside from offering a history of the project, the book serves as a practical guide, not only for other nonprofit leaders who can learn from Windcall's unique model, but for anyone who has ever experienced the debilitating effects of burnout. Changing Course shows readers how they can restore balance in their own lives.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Susan Wells is an author with a keen interest in law enforcement and emergency response procedures. A graduate of the Citizen’s Police Academy in 2018, she used her knowledge and firsthand insights gained from consulting and interviewing professionals in the field—such as police officers, detectives, EMTs, and medical staff—to create authentic narratives in her writing. Wells is currently working on a mystery/thriller titled Samaritan Sins, which features the same detective team as in her previous book, Secret Lives.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is my jam. It says all I can imagine there can be said about activists and their burnout - and their renewal. It names the work I feel called to and documents how two philanthropists addressed it.

The Epilogue puts the Non-Profit Industrial Complex in its place.