A Kind of Upside-Downness: Learning Disabilities and Transformational Community
Published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2019
In November 2019 this collection of writings about Lyn’s House was published. Edited by Prof David Ford, Rev Deborah Ford and Rev Ian Randall, the authors include many former residents and supporters of Lyn’s House and each chapter covers a particular aspect of the story of Lyn’s House.
David, Deborah and Ian gave an interview with the publishers in 2019 which can be found here.
“The story of Lyn’s House is a masterclass in how to build a community of life-enhancing friendships where ability and disability become points of rich encounter, not bunkers of separate lives.”
Mary McAleese, President of Ireland (1997-2011)
The book contains moving accounts of the origins and development of Lyn’s House, and of the friendship it enables. The contributors, all members of the wider Lyn’s House community (many of them former residents), also reflect on its meaning, and explore the implications for both church and society of this creative response to the theology of Jean Vanier. Not only does the book convey the spirit of Lyn’s House and its transformative effects on those who participate in it, it also offers inspiration and a practical guide to anyone who would wish to begin something similar.
The book was launched on 23 Nov 2019 at Selwyn College, Cambridge. We were thrilled to see hundreds of friends, parents, residents, volunteers, supporters and others fill the venue.
Lyn’s House is the working name for the Cambridge Friendship Trust, a charitable incorporated organisation registered with the Charity Commission in England and Wales with registration number 1187876. The registered office is: The Lodge, ℅ Margaret Beaufort Institute, 12-14 Grange Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DE.
lynshouse.org 