New Memoir Chronicles One Woman’s Journey from an International Peacemaking Community to Finding Her Own Identity, Values and Voice

SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, August 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Sibylline Press announces the release of A Spectacular Inheritance: What I Kept and What I Left Behind by Margaret Eastman Smith, a penetrating memoir about growing up in the world of Moral Re-Armament (MRA), an evangelical conflict-resolution organization now known as Initiatives of Change, and the remarkable journey that followed when Smith ultimately walked away from the community she had known since childhood. A Spectacular Inheritance is available now wherever books are sold.

When Margaret Eastman Smith left her close community on the eve of her thirty-fifth birthday, she had few friends beyond it, no college degree, no job experience, and little aptitude for dealing with the world outside.

A Spectacular Inheritance is a penetrating account of coming of age in Moral Re-Armament (previously the Oxford Group, now Initiatives of Change). The religiously-based reconciliation organization spawned Alcoholics Anonymous and Up With People. The movement is credited with contributing to postwar Franco-German reconciliation but has also been criticized by some, including actor Glenn Close.

Margaret shares vivid memories of life within the community and her evolving view of it. As she steps away, it becomes a story of finding values that she can rely on. In her telling, the memoir is a reflection on the search for self, forgiveness and the meaning of love.

“A Spectacular Inheritance is a beautifully layered memoir about belonging, independence and the complicated inheritance we receive from the communities that raise us,” said Vicki DeArmon, Publisher of Sibylline Press. “Margaret brings both intimacy and perspective to a remarkable life story, inviting readers to consider not only what she left behind, but what she was able to carry forward.”

A lifelong interest in the question “Can ordinary people change the world?” continues to inform Smith’s work. She is a columnist and essayist for We Are One Humanity and an alumna of the international peacemaking community.

Smith has upcoming events in Cambridge, Cape Cod, Washington DC, Hollywood, and Los Angeles and has a podcast and media tour.

Praise for A Spectacular Inheritance

“A compelling read, particularly for anyone who has grown up in and then left a religious movement.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Smith does a beautiful job of interweaving her personal narrative with the retelling of the growth of a social movement, while at the same time, questioning both.” - Tamra Pearson d’Estrée, Ph.D. Professor of Conflict Resolution, University of Denver

About the Author
Margaret Eastman Smith grew up in North America, Asia, and Europe. She has American and British citizenship. Her column appears on the website We Are One Humanity (www.weareonehumanity.org) and she is a frequent essayist. She taught in the Program on International Peace and Conflict Resolution at American University, Washington, DC, from 1999-2017. She is the author of Reckoning with the Past: Teaching History in Northern Ireland (Lexington Books, 2005). She earned her doctorate from the Fletcher School at Tufts University in 1999. In 2018, she earned a degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She splits her time between Cape Cod and Washington DC.

A Spectacular Inheritance
By Margaret Eastman Smith
Memoir
Page Count: 424
Trade Paperback: 9798897400201 | $22
EBook: ‎ 9798897400218 | $9.99
Publication Date: August 11, 2026
Published by Sibylline Press — Publishing the work of brilliant women over 50.

About Sibylline Press:
Sibylline Press publishes the brilliant work of women authors over 50, exclusively. Founded in August 2022, Sibylline is owned by ten women of a certain age. They have two other imprints, Sibylline Digital First, launched to publish more work from women with new titles and publishing every Friday as part of their “Pub Date Fridays” campaign. Sibyl Writing Craft publishes books and conducts courses about writing craft and the book industry. The press currently publishes nearly 50 titles a year. Sibylline Press titles encompass the genres of fiction (commercial and literary, as well as historical fiction, mystery, adventure, dystopian, fantasy, and romance) plus memoir. Sibylline Press takes its name from the Sibylline Scrolls, the ancient writings of wise older women, the Sibyls. More at sibyllinepress.com; and follow us on FB and IG @sibyllinepress.

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