Books that changed—and continue to change—my life

This invited review is part of a series called ‘The Book(s) That Changed My Life’ in which members of our action research community reflect on the seminal texts which have changed the way they think and work. Here, Mary Brydon-Miller, our Book Reviews Editor, talks about three books that have shaped her understanding of herself as a scholar, an activist, and a community-based participatory action researcher. From Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) to Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970), there are books that have had a profound impact on my ability to envision my life as a scholar/activist, enabling me and other action researchers to challenge the dominant paradigm to create space for a more radical and engaged form of research. And I continue to encounter new works that have a profound impact on me, as was the case with Troublesome Rising: The Thousand-year Flood in Eastern Kentucky (2024), the recent collection of poetry and personal narratives edited by Melissa Helton. These books, past and present, have changed and continue to change my life

Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Pedagogy · Sociology · Adult and Continuing Education Topics · Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration · Philosophy · University Challenges and Reforms