BELFAST — Left Bank Books, in downtown Belfast, invites the public to a free talk and book signing by restorative justice practitioner Leaf Seligman on Monday, May 13, at 6:30 p.m., at the bookshop.

Seligman’s book Being Restorative is a collection of testimonies and queries that invites readers to identify ways in which they can expand the practice of being restorative to influence how they move through the world. With its roots in Indigenous cultures throughout the word, Seligman presents her thinking as a restorative practitioner that is insightful for the mind and soul.

In Being Restorative, Seligman encourages us to “Notice. Wonder. Acknowledge. Appreciate.” Not in a linear way, but in a cyclical sense where one can trigger a domino effect of another in any direction, or all of them can happen at once. By conceiving restoration as a daily practice rather than a predetermined path of actions, Seligman shows the accessibility of being restorative and how one can start right now.

Readers of Being Restorative are offered eighteen wide-ranging short chapters including: “Where We Meet in Darkness and Light,” “Tears and Roses: A Meditation on Accountability,” “Restorative Reckoning,” “Connecting the Dots,” “On Creating Liberatory Education,” “Lessons from a Pandemic Semester,” “The Importance of Doing Our Inner Work,” and “Joy Gets the Last Word.”

Seligman has taught in colleges, prisons, and community settings since 1985. As a restorative practitioner she draws on her experience as a jail chaplain, prisoner educator, congregational minister, and college instructor. She facilitates peacekeeping circles, immersive learning experiences, and restorative processes of accountability, healing, and transformation.

Her previous books include Opening the Window: Sabbath Meditations, A Pocket Book of Prompts, and From the Midway: Unfolding Stories of Redemption and Belonging.

Seating for this event is limited and reservations are recommended by calling the bookshop (2070-338-9009) or sending an email to: info@leftbankbookshop.com. Ample parking is available in front of the shop and in an adjacent public parking lot.