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A review by jwinchell
Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities by Rebecca Solnit
5.0
This was a slow and deliberate read in part because these are indeed very dark times and because I am often grasping for hope. At one point my boys asked me, "Mama, why do you read with a pencil?" And though I wanted to say "because Mama is full of political rage and despair for our democracy and environment and all civil rights," I chose to say: "because these ideas are very important and are giving me ideas for how to speak up for what I believe." Both are true.
With this book I will do one of my creative journal entries and will also host a discussion with OP Progressive Women. Both will build further strength in me.
I'm gonna give up a treasure from the very ending that is not, in my humble opinion, a spoiler--instead, it should be every reason to dig into this important, prescient, pithy, illuminating book and then get back to your work:
"How do we get back to the struggle over the future? I think you have to hope, and hope in this sense is not a prize or a gift, but something you earn through study, through resisting the ease of despair, and through digging tunnels, cutting windows, opening doors, or finding the people who do these things. They exist."
and then:
"I believe that you can talk about both the terrible things we should engage with and the losses behind us, as well as the wins and achievements that give us the confidence to endeavor to keep pursuing the possibilities. I write to give aid and comfort to people who feel overwhelmed by the defeatist perspective, to encourage people to stand up and participate, to look forward at what we can do and back at what we have done."
With this book I will do one of my creative journal entries and will also host a discussion with OP Progressive Women. Both will build further strength in me.
I'm gonna give up a treasure from the very ending that is not, in my humble opinion, a spoiler--instead, it should be every reason to dig into this important, prescient, pithy, illuminating book and then get back to your work:
"How do we get back to the struggle over the future? I think you have to hope, and hope in this sense is not a prize or a gift, but something you earn through study, through resisting the ease of despair, and through digging tunnels, cutting windows, opening doors, or finding the people who do these things. They exist."
and then:
"I believe that you can talk about both the terrible things we should engage with and the losses behind us, as well as the wins and achievements that give us the confidence to endeavor to keep pursuing the possibilities. I write to give aid and comfort to people who feel overwhelmed by the defeatist perspective, to encourage people to stand up and participate, to look forward at what we can do and back at what we have done."