Widening Circles: A Memoir
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Widening Circles: A Memoir
by Joanna Macy
4.16 · Rating details · 182 ratings · 27 reviews
In this absorbing, and sometimes thrilling memoir, well-known eco-philosopher, Buddhist scholar, and deep ecology activist /teacher Joanna Macy recounts her adventures in the key social movements of our era. Macy's autobiography reads like a novel as she relates her multi-faceted life experiences and reflects on how her marriage and family life enriched her service to the world.
Macy's formative years with an abusive father and oppressed mother set her on an irrevocable path of self-definition and independence. A short-lived stint with the CIA exposed Macy first hand to the Cold War's darkest threats: the construction of the hydrogen bomb and the building of the Berlin Wall. With three children in tow, Macy and her husband traveled with the Peace Corps to Africa, India, and Tibet, where her encounter with the Dalai Lama and Buddhism led to Macy's life-long embrace of the religion and a deep commitment to the peace and environmental movements.
In Widening Circles, the unique synthesis of spiritualism and activism that define Macy's contribution to the world are illuminated by the life-events and experiences that have paved her uncommon path.
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Paperback, 285 pages
Published September 1st 2000 by New Society Publishers (first published 2000)
Original TitleWidening Circles
ISBN0865714207 (ISBN13: 9780865714205)
Edition LanguageEnglish
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Average rating4.16 · Rating details · 182 ratings · 27 reviews
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Gail
Mar 19, 2015Gail rated it really liked it
Shelves: memoirs
I loved reading Joanna Macy's memoir, which covers her life from birth through her early 60s. Her life is inspiring, thought-provoking, and adventurous. She mentions and provides some insight into the ups and downs of her family life, but she does not delve much into details - probably to protect her family, which I totally respect. However, it leads her life to seem too good to be true at times.
However, I was certainly filled with admiration for her. She has an amazing capacity to throw herself into life - leading to her becoming very engaged with many people and projects and studies throughout the world where she was able to apply her compassion, intelligence, and many talents. I mostly felt like she was a kindred spirit - like me, only more so: my best qualities and longings magnified, unleashed. It made me think about my past and the experiences and parts of my temperament that have limited me.
I will be attending a workshop with Joanna in September. She is 86 now and still going strong. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Buddhism, forging a healing relationship with our planet, social justice, and learning about an amazing woman. (less)
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Beth
May 09, 2010Beth rated it it was amazing
This is the activist's version of Eat, Pray, Love. It is a deep, powerful and facinating true story of Macy's life which spans coutries, religions, philosophies, social movements and true loves. It is amazing how many expereinces she has had in her lifetime! Very inspirational!!
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Mali
Sep 14, 2010Mali rated it it was amazing
This is one of the most extraordinary autobiographical journeys I've taken...the way Joanna Macy reflects on her journey and relates it to the Dhammachaka is profound. The wisdom and candidness in which she conveys her life story and unfoldment makes me want to queue this book up for read number two.
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Heidi
Jul 17, 2019Heidi rated it liked it
I found the beginning of this book to be more engaging then the last 1/4. Joanna certainly is an interesting person, traveling and writing of her adventures. She is brutally honest And doesn’t hold back in describing life as an activist in countries all over the world. The last 1/4 of the book dragged a bit for me, as it was less personal and more of a resume of her work. (less)
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Vida
Dec 24, 2019Vida rated it it was ok
Shelves: abandoned
This is the second time I have tried to get through this book. I got over half way this time. Another reviewer said that they liked the idea of Joanna Macy books much better than the actual reality of them. I totally agree with this. While there were some things I liked, over all I didn't care for this book. Eventually I got tired of trying to drag myself through to the end.
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John Barrett
May 29, 2019John Barrett rated it it was amazing
Having read her book on climate change, "Active Hope", I wanted to know more about this writer and in "Widenig Circles", I have found a great writer and historian. This book reads like a good historical fiction, although it is totally nonfiction. Her autobiography contains the elements that have created her as an exceptional human being and activist extraordinaire.
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Marsha Valance
Jun 26, 2020Marsha Valance rated it liked it
Shelves: biography, memoir, medicine, mysticism, philosophy, women, espionage, politics
A fascinating life of a passionate former CIA analyst/peace activist/ecologist/Buddhist mystic.
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Clivemichael
Jun 06, 2018Clivemichael rated it it was amazing
Shelves: biographic, environment-activism, history, morality, political, social-comment
Engaging account, filled with wonderful anecdotes and reflections. Inspiring and informative.
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Tejas Janet
Oct 01, 2013Tejas Janet rated it really liked it
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not ever complete the last one,
But I give myself to it.
I circle around God, that primordial tower.
I have been circling for thousands of years,
and I still don't know:
am I a falcon, a storm,
or a great song?
Rainer Maria Rilke, The Book of Hours
- translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy
The above poem is the source of the title for Joanna Macy's memoir, Widening Circles. Macy has led a pretty amazing life, and I liked how she describes becoming a more open-minded person, even though she doesn't necessarily fully embrace traditional concepts of God or of re-incarnation despite her long-standing allegiance to Buddhism and Christianity before that. Humanist is more how I would describe her.
The author calls attention to a problem I have with more eastern religions/philosophies -- that closing oneself off from the world to be pure and in prayer/meditation doesn't seem to accomplish much in the physical real-world plain of our existence here and now. I could really appreciate that she came around to doing so many activist things. Seems to have a good bit in common with Unitarians and Friends.
Overall, this is a well-written, thoughtfully-reflective book, one I can readily recommend to philosophically-minded persons, especially those who have ever struggled with despair in the face of the seemingly colossal, contemporary societal and environmental problems. I did lose some respect for the author when she admitted that both she and her husband were not monogamous in their marriage, and were not initially forthcoming and truthful with each other on this. However, I set my judgementalness aside, and was able to appreciate her life-long search for God, meaning, and the higher self that connects all of life. (less)
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Michelle
Jan 02, 2013Michelle rated it really liked it
Shelves: religion, memoir, environment, nature
I heard Joanna Macy in an interview with Krista Tippett on On Being and fell in love with her. A wise woman, she converted to Buddhism, became an environmental and peace activist, and a translator of Rilke. My favorite part of the conversation was her discussion of Rilke, the meaning she has found in his poetry, the impact he has had in her life, and her reading of several poems. Unfortunately, this was not discussed at all in her memoir.
I loved the beginning--the first pages are exquisite. She talks about a maple tree at her grandparents farm where she would spend the summer and the way the light would filter through the leaves and the way she would feel settled and still when she climbed it. It becomes an object of intense emotional importance to the young Joanna.
Her later life was fascinating too--she lived in India, Africa, and Tibet, plus spent time in Sri Lanka. I got a bit bogged down in her descriptions of Buddhism because of some of the specialized terminology, and the end didn't have as much resonance for me as the early chapters, but overall, a lovely memoir.
I read this over the last couple of months in bits and pieces. (less)
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Jess
Jan 09, 2013Jess rated it it was amazing
Shelves: writing, religion-and-spirituality, social-networks, love, how-to-live, favorites, buddhism, memoir
Devoured this book in the first two weeks of the new year. I'd like to write a letter to Joanna to thank her for this book. It wove together so many of the paths I've been down and so many of the questions I've had in the past five years. I could identify with so many parts of her journey, listening to her was like replaying parts of my own short adult story. I wonder if everyone feels this sort of resonance because Macy herself is so open and vulnerable and human? It seemed like more than that to me... not everything, but many things -- the travel, the exploration of systems theory (in my case network theory), attraction to Buddhism, questioning of cultural standards like monogamy, risk-taking, cooperative endeavors -- and the way all these things fit together for her -- the way she wrote about it made me shiver with recognition. She was blessed with many opportunities, graced with the strength to take advantage of them, the curiosity to learn through her life, and great capacity to love and connect. An inspiration! (less)
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Ashley
Nov 19, 2016Ashley rated it really liked it
This book was so interesting to me. I loved it. One of my favorite parts:
"What happened then felt so primordial, and so important somehow for the ongoing order of things, that I imagined at moments whole populations gathered below our window beating drums and cymbals. Clearly, this physical call and response was the primary phenomenon of the cosmos. How else do the planets swing so steadily in orbit, how else do the starfish attach to their rocks? Here the wildness inside me and the tenderness that tore me were married. Hence the laughter and the languor; yet at the edges, there was terror too - of the lies and the longing that waited in the wings. It fit my sense of life's seriousness that there should be this outlawed and irrefusable dimension." (less)
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Sara
Feb 24, 2008Sara rated it liked it
...joanna's honesty in her memoir is both inspiring and unsettling at times. the trust that she places in the vulnerability life brings is simply wonderful-the reader joins joanna through her many life changes and varying paths of philosophy, belief, and practice. perhaps the most inspiring (and deeply unsettling at some moments) is the lack of apology found in joanna's voice. she speaks her truth in hopes that the truth does not destroy...
anyone with interest in the origins of the peace corps, the civil rights' movement, anti-nuclear organizations, nonviolence campaigns, and buddhist theology will learn valuable lessons from joanna's history shared in widening circles. (less)
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Alison
Apr 26, 2012Alison rated it it was amazing
So inspiring. Renewed my commitment to conservation work and reinforced the importance of it. Reawakened my interest in Tibetan Buddhism and the benefits of its practice. Reminds me that there are so many options as far as how we define ourselves and how we choose to live; and that many of them are outside of boxes.
Joanna Macy is one of the few true heroes to emerge from American culture in modern times. I can't wait to read more of her work.
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Julie
Mar 21, 2016Julie rated it it was amazing
A stunning example of what a memoir can be: part mindful manifesto, part personal healing, part call to action, and all fierce, universal compassion. Joanna Macy has had an incredibly rich and varied life, and has so much wisdom to share. Many images in this book will stay with me for years. I am enchanted by the concept of the Shambhala warriors, and I think that I could be one. This is a great read for those seeking new intention and gratitude in their lives.
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KCB
Nov 20, 2015KCB rated it liked it
Shelves: bookclub
Macy is an interesting person and has had a fascinating life. I would probably have ranked her higher except for the sense of her throughout the book of her "neediness" (that why she embarks on all of these interests is not so much intellectual but attempt to fill some void) and her utter unawareness of that.
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Peter
Jul 22, 2008Peter rated it really liked it
Very interesting autobiography. Somebody of my generation with a very different life experience. I admire what she has done and admire her husband for sticking with her. Certainly someone who has been on the eco/Buddhist lecture circuit if not the originator of same. For the most part well written and fascinating as her circles widen.
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Barbara P
Mar 13, 2016Barbara P rated it it was amazing
A marvelous, honest memoir from a teacher on Buddhist philosophy, system theory and deep ecology. I picked up this book because I had been reading another book of hers - "Active Hope". The memoir follows her spiritual transformation and her call to create a better world through new programs to heal the climate, address poverty and nuclear systems that destroy creation and people's lives.
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Nichola
Nov 26, 2007Nichola rated it liked it
I like the IDEA of Joanna Macy's books so much better than the real thing. She's an amazing theorist, but not such a great writer. I was very excited by the first 80 pages or so, and then I got bored.
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Top reviews from other countries
Lightflower Studios
Compassion in Action
Reviewed in the United States on 1 December 2017Verified Purchase
Joanna Macy inspires me with her grounded approach to activism that seamlessly blends service and spirituality. She is a true shero, thought leader and powerful voice of sanity and compassion in the world.
Too many spiritual teachers shy away from worldly issues of injustice. She leads the way of being spiritually connected and an activist for the welfare of our Earth, our ancestors and our generations to come. She helps me see the way to keep my heart open to great suffering and need, to not turn away and not be overwhelmed into paralysis.
I highly recommend this book.
Too many spiritual teachers shy away from worldly issues of injustice. She leads the way of being spiritually connected and an activist for the welfare of our Earth, our ancestors and our generations to come. She helps me see the way to keep my heart open to great suffering and need, to not turn away and not be overwhelmed into paralysis.
I highly recommend this book.
aloha
Amazing life.
Reviewed in the United States on 16 January 2016Verified Purchase
Amazing life...from beginning to end, I was taking each step with her....I also enjoy her website and lecture series on You Tube.
Dona Robinson
A TRUE story of foresight and adventure!!!
Reviewed in the United States on 18 December 2018Verified Purchase
Excellent and Inspirational!!!!
PD Hudson
A wonderful life story!
Reviewed in the United States on 13 November 2019Verified Purchase
This book is one of the best life stories I have encountered. Joanna Macy is a true gem of a human being!
