"These talks are about the liberation of the human heart from the tentacles of chaos and loneliness, and from those fears that provoke us to exclude and reject others. This is a liberation that opens us up. It leads us to the discovery of our common humanity... It is the process of truly becoming human."

Jean Vanier is the founder of L'Arche, the international organization famed for its innovative methods of working with handicapped people. He is also a prolific writer, and in his many books, he has developed the idea of what it means to be a good individual and what it means to live in harmony with the world and with God. In this year's Massey Lectures, he discusses the necessity of conceiving a new vision of humankind: a society in which the gifts of all, particularly those of the weak and the powerless, are an equal, common heritage.


Becoming Human is published by House of Anansi.