Candid conversation with author Gareth Higgins

Gareth Higgins was born in Belfast in 1975, grew up during the northern Ireland Troubles, and now lives in the US. He writes and speaks about the power of storytelling to shape our lives and world, peace and making justice, and how to take life seriously without believing your own propaganda. He has been involved in peace-building and violence reduction in northern Ireland and helping address the legacy of conflict, received a Ph.D. in Sociology from Queen’s University Belfast, and helped teach the world’s first graduate course in Reconciliation Studies at Trinity College Dublin. He also helped found the Wild Goose, New Story and Movies & Meaning festivals. Gareth leads retreats in North America and Ireland; and he founded The Porch Magazine. Gareth’s new book, co-authored with Kathleen Norris, is A Whole Life in Twelve Movies: A Cinematic Journey to a Deeper Spirituality, and is published in October 2024. Lee Isaac Chung, director of Twisters and Minari says “I wish there was more writing… like it”. Fr James Martin says it’s “beautiful, endlessly fascinating, wise and funny”, writer-director Scott Teems says it’s “a treasure”, and Kaitlin Curtice says “Please read this book… You’ll be so glad you did.” Brian McLaren says Gareth’s beloved book How Not to be Afraid is “a beautiful book”, Kathleen Norris says it’s “a necessary book”, and Micky ScottBey Jones says it’s “a much-needed resource for skill-building through our fear and trauma, so that we might create the belonging and communities we desire”. Nadia Bolz-Weber says “I totally trust Gareth Higgins when he writes about his own fear and how it’s actually possible to transform it into something powerful, something capable of healing us and the world.” Pádraig Ó Tuama says “Gareth Higgins is a friend. This book is too.”