David Bedrick - Revisioning Activism: Bringing Depth, Dialogue, and Diversity to Individual and Social Change

At last someone is taking on Dr. Phil with good sense and great humor. Life isnt a sixty-minute show where people just come in for the laying on of hands. Life is about working it all out with family, community, and love. Good for Mr. Bedrick to decide to pull off the gloves and have an emotional slugfest with an over-the-high-school bully. Talking Back to Dr. Phil is a must read. But not at dinnertimeyoull be laughing too hard to eat.

NIKKI GIOVANNI, Poet, Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech University, seven-time NAACP Image Award recipient

David Bedrick understands that real change or transformation requires challenging accepted dogma and then approaching problems with compassion and curiosity. He is a great advocate for stopping the madness of body hatred and dieting.

JANE R. HIRSCHMANN and CAROL H. MUNTER, Authors of Overcoming Overeating and When Women Stop Hating Their Bodies

Praise for Revisioning Activism

Teacher, counselor, and attorney David Bedrick is the ideal guide to lead us through new doors of activism. His diverse background allows him to freely pull together issues such as shame and conflict in relationships, and the social sufferings of racism and sexism, all the time urging us to see and create the world anew. His new book, Revisioning Activism, helps us critically think and feel through a world in need of individual and social change, bringing depth, brilliant insights, and new strategies to heal ourselves and the world around us.

ARNOLD MINDELL, Ph.D., Author of The Deep Democracy of Open Forums and Sitting in the Fire

Bedrick is a 21st century healer who acknowledges and honors the often epic struggle shared by individuals and groups who triumph over trauma. His theoretical framework is only one significant aspect of the skill and wisdom with which he addresses some of the most central issues of contemporary times. He deploys a psychology of transition and transformation for its potential ability to help individuals, organizations, and even nations navigate the shifting terrain of our changing times.

ABERJHANI, Poet, historian, and co-author of Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance and author of The River of Winged Dreams

As one who has journeyed eastward, marched with MLK, studied and taught psychology and theology, I deeply appreciate Revisioning Activisms contribution in service of sanity, justice, love, and mercy. Bedricks clarity and heartfulness deepen and enrich. He is a true treasure in our midst.

HERBERT D. LONG, Th.D., Dipl. PW, Former dean and Francis Greenwood Peabody lecturer, Harvard University Divinity School, and adjunct faculty member, Marylhurst University

We are living in precarious times that often leave us holding our breath and wondering when the other shoe will drop. Covering a broad range of topics and social issues while delivering a fresh perspective, Bedrick has produced a powerful, thought-provoking work. His essays are filled with valuable insights that will enlighten, inspire, and challenge you on multiple levels. Its a gift of awareness, courage, and hope that you will savor and turn to time and again.

MARY CANTY MERRILL, Ph.D., Author and editor of Why Black Lives Matter (Too), President & COO, Merrill Consulting Associates, LLC

Im so glad David Bedrick wrote this book. In the vein of James Hillmans Weve Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy and the Worlds Getting Worse, Bedricks insightful, challenging, and brilliant collection of essays in Revisioning Activism is an even more powerful clarion call to see individual suffering through a social lens. With unflinching courage, Bedrick looks at tough issuessexism, racism, anti-Semitism, and homophobiaand doesnt just challenge us to see how society and psyche are intertwined, but provides solutions. Throughout the book, he provides stories, examples, and insights into what can be done. This is something that activism all too often misses. In this way, Bedrick truly revisions activism. He doesnt only call for a better world; he gives us a bridge to get there, offering us powerful new ways of thinking and doing to make the world hes envisioning.

JULIE DIAMOND, Ph.D., Organizational consultant, coach, and author of Power: A Users Guide

Revisioning Activism is a rare read that reveals the essential connections between individual psychology, social history, and societal marginalization. These essays provide a needed education as to how marginalized groups are targets for projection and systemic annihilation, and compromise everyones mental health. Since his first book, Talking Back to Dr. Phil, Bedrick continues to speak to the societal obsession with normalization and how this misses the uniqueness of who we are, dampens creativity, and limits our collective growth. Bedricks passion is palpable, his personal stories compelling, as he gives voice to an activist-oriented psychology that brings together personal work with world work.

DAWN MENKEN, Ph.D., Psychotherapist and author of Speak Out! and Raising Parents, Raising Kids

Revisioning Activism takes us into uncharted territories and breaks through the classical boundaries of politics, health, spirituality, and social divides, with an incisive underlying and unifying vision of these disturbances making us more whole. His love for language and his courage to call out his truth makes this book a great and stimulating read.

MAX SCHUPBACH, Ph.D., President of Maxfxx and the Deep Democracy Institute

David Bedrick has a refreshing and often underappreciated understanding of what it takes to achieve greater success with weight loss and healthier living. Most people know that to be healthier, they need to improve their diet and increase their exercise; but sometimes that is an impossible task. Bedrick understands this and realizes it is more about the psychology of weight loss and what drives the individual person to eat what they eat, and how to uncover those deeper meanings. His years of experience and passion for the topic will certainly yield incredible results.

ADAM PUTSCHOEGL, M.D., Fellow, Pediatric Cardiology, Mayo Clinic

Revisioning Activism offers a radical take on common personal and societal problems that invites us to illuminate our private thoughts and feelings as well as the social context in which these problems arise. Covering topics as diverse as racism, body image, and forgiveness, this book will challenge your belief systems, open your eyes to new perspectives, and bring depth and heart to any process of change.

GAIL BRENNER, Ph.D., Author of The End of Self-Help: Discovering Peace and Happiness Right at the Heart of Your Messy, Scary, Brilliant Life

Bedricks compassion and understanding of the human condition brings me back to his teachings time and time again. Whether discussing gender, race, body image, or sexual inequality, he speaks to the heart of the matter and impresses upon us the strength of overcoming our own inner Goliath. Rather than running from our fear, frailties, and so-called flaws, Bedrick empowers us to find the wisdom in our wounds and use it to our advantage. David Bedrick is a powerful, humble, and astute teacher. I highly recommend this book!

CRYSTAL ANDRUS MORISSETTE, Founder of the S.W.A.T. Institute and author of The Emotional Edge