The Gentle Road Home

"Back before Christmas, I led a weekend retreat in California. At its close, one of the retreatants presented me with The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness. I happen to be an admirer of the book's author, Gregory Boyle. Hes the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, "the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in the world." Extravagant. Tenderness. 

I've been reading snatches of Boyles book in hotel rooms, in airports, on bumpy flights. Last night, when I finally finished, I flipped back through the pages, reviewing lines I'd highlighted. "Make us into a cento," they said, in chorus. So that's exactly what I've done." 

Phyllis Cole-Dai shares more.