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A review by bookherd
Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're in Without Going Crazy by Joanna Macy, Chris Johnstone
5.0
This book is exactly what the title suggests: it offers a plan for how to face the reality of climate collapse, do what one can, and stave off despair. The advice is fairly simple: it's really about making some shifts in the way we see our situations. We remember that we are part of the earth, not separate from it, and we see the grief, anxiety, anger, despair we feel on behalf of the earth and its residents as the Earth crying out in us. We remind ourselves of the resources we have, our strengths, the people we know are supporting us. We don't worry about the end result, we do what we can each day. We see uncertainty as hopeful instead of destabilizing.
Active Hope is very much like an instruction manual or a workbook. It is laid out methodically and written in simple, clear language. Interspersed throughout the chapters are thought exercises to try either alone or in groups. In a few places are extended narratives from the authors' experiences that illustrate the mental/spiritual journey they are writing about. Although the thought exercises can be done by individuals on their own, the book is really directed toward people who are working with a group on climate activism.
The book has endnotes, a list of resources for further reading/inquiry, and an index. I recommend it for people who are dealing with climate grief/anxiety/depression and for people interested in (or who already are) taking action.
Active Hope is very much like an instruction manual or a workbook. It is laid out methodically and written in simple, clear language. Interspersed throughout the chapters are thought exercises to try either alone or in groups. In a few places are extended narratives from the authors' experiences that illustrate the mental/spiritual journey they are writing about. Although the thought exercises can be done by individuals on their own, the book is really directed toward people who are working with a group on climate activism.
The book has endnotes, a list of resources for further reading/inquiry, and an index. I recommend it for people who are dealing with climate grief/anxiety/depression and for people interested in (or who already are) taking action.