A review by starrysteph
Practicing New Worlds: Abolition and Emergent Strategies by Andrea J. Ritchie

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

Practicing New Worlds is a beautiful & honest offering from Andrea J. Ritchie – we get to follow along with her as she navigates thinking beyond the boundaries of our current system and welcoming emergent strategies to imagine and start to shift towards a better world.

Some of my favorite takeaways:

Joy. This is a movement filled with love, centering pleasure and imagination. You can’t ignite change if you are stuck in despair; you can’t imagine brighter futures if you are sinking into devastation. 

Change yourself first. Ritchie writes about her own journey clinging to top-down change, to the policies and rules of our present. But we can’t policy our way to abolition, and that’s a restrictive way of thinking. You have to let go of the old and be open to change. And this means yourself! You have to challenge your inner thoughts & resolve your own contradictions before you can go bigger and impact others. 

Emergent strategies are accessible. This book makes it easier to imagine how we can have an impact on massive, powerful systems. We are part of a smaller network that can ripple its way to larger shifts. This allows us to take an active role in shaping changes, and puts abolition in the realm of our imagined possibility.

Planning plus spontaneity. You have to be open to shifts and unexpected new visions, but this doesn’t mean tossing away all preparation. In order for this movement to be inclusive, there has to be some planning. Just don’t be afraid to adapt.

Fiction is revolutionary. Sci-fi allows us to dream. And you can’t leave all the imagination up to others - start challenging yourself to expand your perspective. 

I also really enjoyed the fictional inserts towards the end of the book. 

CW: mentions of police brutality, incarceration, confinement, murder, death, grief, racism, ableism, homophobia

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(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
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