Shands Stoltzfus publishes new book

Regina Shands Stoltzfus, professor of peace, justice and conflict studies at Goshen College, recently published a new book: Resistance, Resilience, and Radical Love: Reflections on Blackness and Teaching Peace (Tehom Center Publishing, 2025).

Shands Stoltzfus said that the book is inspired by a number of things: her experience on sabbatical in 2023, when she took classes with Eastern Mennonite University in their strategies for trauma awareness and resilience (STAR) program; her 2021 book Been in the Struggle: Pursuing an Antiracist Spirituality, co-written with Tobin Miller Shearer; her lived experience as a Black woman, who grew up witnessing the various ways that individuals and communities work for liberation; and the difficult work of teaching and discussing restorative justice, to name a few.

Shands Stoltzfus has struggled for years with the question of how best to support her students — and herself — while teaching peace, justice and conflict studies. Students have to continuously analyze and discuss heavy topics involving injustice and violence, which can be extremely emotionally draining.

“We have to bear witness,” she said. “We have to know what the world looks like — doing peace work means understanding violence.” But, she says, that is extremely difficult, especially when our news cycles are filled with constant reminders of the injustices in our world.

One major question that inspired this book was, “What can I do to make it easier for all of us to get through the semester?”

She explored that question more deeply in her time in the STAR program. Over the past few years, Shands Stoltzfus has incorporated grounding exercises into many of her classes, as a way for students to stay connected to peace. She also has increased collaboration and group projects — something incredibly important to her. In the college classroom, she said, “the process is just as important as — if not more important than — the final product.”

These questions are evident in Resistance, Resilience, and Radical Love, where she reflects on the constant struggle of teaching peace, especially as a Black woman. The book is dedicated to her mother, a retired early childhood educator, who founded a publishing company to teach Black history to young children.

“She had a consistent goal,” Shands Stotlzfus said, “and worked to change things through her normal everyday love for Black people and Black culture and the ‘every-day-ness’ of it all.” And Shands Stoltzfus wants to honor that work through her writing.

Resistance, Resilience, and Radical Love is available now at major bookstores and online.