Liberated or Unhinged? A Quaker Woman’s Witness to War

Lyn Back began writing Treading Water at the Shark Café, a Memoir of the Yugoslav Wars while living at Pendle Hill almost 20 years ago, having just returned from Serbia and Kosovo. One of only a handful of American women to live and work in the region before, during, and after the NATO bombing, Lyn has a unique story to tell. She recalls the call of conscience that led her to the horrors of the war in Bosnia, and how confused she was about what her role should be. Guided by her oversight committee, Lyn speaks about the clearness process and the powerful energy she felt as she started on her journey, dependent on her faith and her longing for peace.

Leader(s)

Lyn’s memoir of her war years in the former Yugoslavia will be available for sale and signing after the lecture

Lyn Back earned a master’s in public administration from the State University of New York, Albany. Her experiences in ex-Yugoslavia during the war years continue to influence her writing. Her poems, essays, and short stories have appeared in Friends Journal, Quaker History, and other literary journals. Her Pendle Hill pamphlet, Rebecca Janney Timbres Clark: Turned in the Hand of God (PHP #393), relates the story of another Quaker woman drawn to serve in a war-torn land.

Before going to the former Yugoslavia, Lyn was the director of planned giving at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). Upon her return to the U.S., she lived at Pendle Hill, taught English as a Second Language, and served as program coordinator in refugee resettlement for Lutheran Children and Family Service. For six years she served as clerk of membership for the Nobel Peace Prize Group at AFSC. Lyn is a member of Old Haverford Friends Meeting.

Travel directions to Pendle Hill. Click to view the flyer.