Connecting Worlds by Daniel Buckles

The book "Connecting Worlds" introduces readers to the themes of transformative and participatory research through story, by reflecting on the author's journey of becoming and being a researcher engaged in the work of social change. Participation in the bush life of the 1970s Yukon, exposure to the complex culture of Mexico and a battle with cancer at the age of thirty-two prompted Daniel Buckles to work with people living on the edge: Honduran peasants inventing new agricultural technologies for hillside agriculture; landless Bangladeshi women gleaning nutrient-rich food from their surroundings; small religious communities standing in solidarity at the centre of disaster relief efforts in the Philippines and Burkina Faso; grassroots organizations fighting to protect urban forests in Ottawa, Canada.

The memoir suggests that how we chose to connect to the world—the creative tension between self, others and nature—can become the catalyst for an engaged life and the realization that there is no separation between the parts of life.