This is the book that will help you understand and navigate our increasingly diverse world. Instead of recognizing and celebrating our differences, we often feel separated from one another. We have not learned to bridge the understanding of how our unique individual experiences cause us to see the world through differing lenses. Illustrated with powerful life stories from the late Allison Boisvert, Jodi Pfarr’s The Urgency of Awareness offers readers keys to increase understanding and improve individual interactions, policies, and practices in our organizations.

Ultimately, these powerful - yet easily digestible - chapters will encourage healthier engagement between people with differing identities, from individual to community level. Discussion questions throughout the book invite readers to consider how the lens of societal experiences affect interactions. These prompts could be utilized in varied settings such as family discussions, book groups, or staff meetings. The Urgency of Awareness equips readers to embrace a broader understanding of the diversity in our world to support healthy human interactions at every level of life.

“I’m passionate about creating sustainable communities where everyone’s voice is heard — a place where people are conscious of their experience and willing to hear about another." For two decades, International consultant Jodi Pfarr has conducted impactful seminars that leave people laughing and learning. With her trademark humor and ability to connect with diverse groups, Jodi has helped people discover the human connections that unite us all—thus, unlocking potential within communities, institutions, and individuals. Jodi grew up on a farm and now lives in an urban neighborhood with her family. To her writing and consulting she brings a richness of field experience working in various positions within social services, criminal justice, religious institutions, and non-profit organizations.