Best Books On Restorative Justice

Among the essential factors a book must have for readers to better understand and more deeply grasp the power of restorative justice, is to deliver a message that touches the heart and soul in such a way that the reader experiences that power while reading the book. This happens for numerous readers of Doing Time With God.

There are various books about restorative justice that have been written by experts; this web page provides a list of some that may interest you in your search for the best books on restorative justice. In many cases,  the authors share about their personal experiences; that is the case with Doing Time With God.

Best Books On Restorative Justice

2. Circle in the Square by Nancy Riestenberg
Nancy tackles some of the challenges school communities face, and how they can be resolved through restorative measures.  One of the best books on restorative justice in the context of schools, this focuses on creating community circles that helps to create a safer learning and development space for your students.

She even uses stories from the hallways to elaborate on divisive and controversial subjects such as bullying, suspension, staff conflicts, drug use and so much more. Her entire book is focused on a smorgasbord of strategies that are targeted towards the whole school community in the gamut of students, teachers, parents and administrators.

3. Returning to the Teachings by Rupert Ross
This is a continuation of the aboriginal approach to Justice as covered in Rupert Ross’s bestseller, Dancing with a Ghost. The only difference is that Ross takes a much deeper approach on this.

Ross has traveled a great deal in pursuit of knowledge on the subject of aboriginal approach to peacemaking justice. Seen by many as one of the most excellent books about restorative justice, Ross tries to share some of the things he learned. He does this by inviting his readers to take a ride with him as his belabors on the pain and sufferings that grip so many communities.

4. Critical Issues in Restorative Justice by Howard Zehr
Restorative justice has grown a great deal. It’s no longer the scattered experimental project we used to know but a global social movement. It’s grown beyond a fledgling form of justice to a conflict resolving movement applied in homes, schools and workplace.

Critical issues in Restorative Justice is considered to be one of the best books on restorative justice.  As the name suggests, it aims to challenge the idea that punishment is the most effective way of achieving justice. He does this by focusing on the needs of those affected as a result of a committed crime or harm.

5. Taking Restorative Justice to Schools by Jeannette Holtham
Restorative justice isn’t a movement to fade or vanish with time. It’s here to stay and grow even stronger.

Started with many schools going slow on punishment. Now lots and lots of parents are embracing it, and it’s just a matter of time before states realize its benefits and consider working it into their justice system.

Taking Restorative Justice to Schools is one of those restorative justice books that provides a step-by-step guide for schools to adopt in order to help youth at core level turn around their negative behaviors for the good of the society.

6. Circle Forward by Carolyn Boyes Watson
Circle Forward is handbook resource guide that teachers, students and administrators can use to integrate the practice of circles into the day to day life of the school community.

In this list of books about restorative justice, Circle Forward offers comprehensive step-by-step guidelines on how to plan, implement and facilitate circles for a broad variety of purposes within a school.

Best Books On Restorative Justice

7. Mediation and Criminal Justice by Martin Wright
Mediation has been on the rise as an alternative form of conflict resolution since the last decade. It’s inspiration stems from a number of motives including serving victims with better outcomes, relieving the pressure imposed by the courts, as well as offering the courts an alternative approach to resolving conflicts.

8. Discipline that Restores by Ron Classen
Discipline that restores is one of the best books on restorative justice that is a must have handbook for any library or collection. Essentially, Ron offers a simplified, step-by-step guide on how to increase mutual respect and cooperation in schools.

As one of the top books about restorative justice,  Classen's work walks you through a number of issues that are known to prevent students from cooperating and how to circumvent them and in the process help the students to embrace positive behavior.

9. Restorative Justice Practice by Kristen Hefner, Susan L Miller, and Meredith Rossner
More are more people are getting interested in the subject of restorative justice. But even with this, the term still eludes a great majority of the population. Lots of people also have a varied understanding of what it actually means. The Restorative Justice Practice strives to address some of these issues in a simplified, easy to understand manner that everyone can resonate with.