Book Review

Abstract

Out of the closet is the secret suffering of both leaders and teachers. These two important new works are credible empirical explorations of a highly influential, little-acknowledged, and underexplored phenomenon: the emotional wounding of educators. They examine characteristics of such events along with implications and options for action thereby making them valuable and rare contributions to the field. Both are rigorously grounded methodologically and exhibit commendable interpretive ingenuity. Considered together, they provide a split-screen view of teachers’and leaders’emotional lives that warrants further attention if we are to understand and affect educational change. Breaking the Silence examines “educational leadership’s dirty little secret,” the mis-treatment of teachers by principals. The Wounded Leader explores leaders’own wounding crises and a range of responses that leave leaders trapped, healed but scarred, or, alternatively, transcendent. Both books are highly recommended reading for practitioners and scholars alike.