Abstract
Based upon the title, Dreaming of a New Reality: How Restorative Practices Reduce Crime and Violence, Improve Relationships and Strengthen Civil Society, a reader may expect the book to provide extensive insight into the many types of restorative justice practices and their applications. Even the cover artwork, a partial view of the Earth, with numerous points and lines connecting the countries across the world evokes this sense of vast, global, all-encompassing information. Although these expectations do not go entirely unmet, and the author does provide some helpful insight into the potential benefits of restorative practices, the book does fall short in fully nourishing the well-read restorative justice audience. It ends up serving more as a primer on restorative practices for those less familiar with restorative justice. Further, although the author does quite well in supporting the information presented throughout the book, both anecdotally and empirically, there are some shortcomings in the composition of the work, and at times, the format of the anecdotal support becomes overwhelming.
Chapter 1 of the book should really be listed as an Introduction. It takes the reader through each chapter of the book, summarizing the content in the chapter/chapters, and reads like an introduction or preface to the book, rather than an actual first chapter. The author then takes the next two chapters to describe the work he and his wife, Susan Wacthel, have done implementing restorative practices in school settings. The couple established a school, the Buxmont Academy in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, with a restorative practices foundation (Chapter 2); and based upon their success at Buxmont, they began consulting with a number of school districts on implementing restorative practices within the public school setting (Chapter 3).
The book then takes an abrupt shift in Chapter 4. The chapter is almost entirely devoted to recounting a restorative conference that took place in Sydney, Australia, for an armed robbery that occurred in the community (not in a school setting). Although the message within the narrative is valuable, too much time is devoted to the verbatim retelling of the conference experience. Perhaps providing a brief synopsis of the case within the chapter and then providing the entire dialogue as an appendix would be a better solution. This would permit the reader to still gain the useful insight of seeing the crime and conference experiences through each participant’s lens, a unique approach taken by the author in composing the chapter, without bogging down the flow of information in the work.
Chapter 5 provides the history of family group conferencing (FGC)/family group decision making (FGDM); and once again provides real case examples for context and support of restorative practices. Chapter 6 outlines the implementation of restorative practices in the workplace, and the author provides an example of conflict within their own organization, and how a restorative circle was able to mend employee–supervisor relationships. Chapter 7 provides an overview of implementing restorative practices on college campuses, and the final chapter provides a “looking back” and “moving forward” synopsis.
One of the main weaknesses of the book lies in the flow and organization of information. It jumps back and forth between case studies (examples), to research, to general comments regarding restorative practices. Some of the best statements and pieces of information provided in the book get lost in the poor organization and information flow. For example, on page 83, the author states, “there are many ways to measure the success of a conference … FGC/FGDM is more than a singular event.… [and] produces qualitative results that can be hard to measure …” This declaration is included in a paragraph that is smack in the middle of a case study example. The author is getting at one of the great debates within restorative justice scholarship, how do we effectively and empirically evaluate restorative practices? Unfortunately, this statement can easily get glossed over and swallowed up by the extensive conferencing play by play.
This causes one of the book’s greatest strengths, the use of evidence to support claims, to also be one of the major weaknesses. In addition to the exhaustive recounting of the conference experience from Chapter 4, there are other stories and sections in the book that read more like a film transcript than a book. Therefore, while it is advantageous to provide these powerful “real-world” examples, it would be better to do so in a more reader-friendly manner.
It is important to note, however, that Wachtel does also provide a healthy list of empirical research to support his claims regarding restorative practice success, and this is certainly one of the book’s strengths.
Another strength of the book is the provision of a “zero-tolerance” alternative for schools. At a time when research is unveiling, and school administrators are realizing, the detrimental effects of zero-tolerance policies, this book (even if only in an introductory capacity) provides an alternative approach to dealing with all levels of difficult student behavior. Much of the restorative justice literature focuses on the broader justice context (both juvenile and adult justice systems/processing), and new literature that examines the whole-school approach is needed. This book helps fill this gap, but again falls short and leaves the reader wanting more, which is a disappointment given the extensive experience and expertise of the author.
In summary, the book leaves the reader with some confusion over its purpose and intended audience. Is it a book about the whole-school approach or a book about restorative practices more broadly? Often it reads as a film transcript, and some of the best original concept contributions the author provides get lost in recounting case examples. For those readers somewhat well versed in restorative justice literature, the amount of time spent describing these encounters leaves one craving a more in-depth and advanced presentation of restorative justice and the whole-school model. The book is best suited for someone just learning about restorative practices or someone looking for examples to share in educating others about restorative justice.