How to Live in a Chaotic Climate: 10 Steps to Reconnect with Ourselves, Our Communities, and Our Planet

by LaUra Schmidt

A 10-step holistic guide to help you cope with the climate crisis—from the founders of the Good Grief Network.

Filled with 30 practices and reflection questions, each step builds off the last to help readers process grief, uncertainty, and painful emotions, while also looking toward where we can make positive changes. The practices include journaling, dancing through grief, rituals for what and those we’ve lost, loving-kindness meditations, and many more.

LaUra Schmidt and Aimee Lewis-Reau started the Good Grief Network, one of the first emotional support groups for eco-anxiety and climate grief. There are now chapters all over the world following these same ten steps, including:

•  accepting the severity of the predicament
•  developing awareness of our own biases and perceptions
•  taking breaks
•  reinvesting in meaningful efforts
•  practicing gratitude
•  sitting with uncertainty

The authors draw on personal stories and testimonials, as well as the work of long-time activists like Joanna Macy, to find inner peace and outer purpose within the chaos of the current climate.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Mental Health, Environment, Psychology, Nature, Sustainability

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 8, 2023

Reviews

[Stephanie]

FINALLY finished this - literally took me so long to read. Even tho I didn’t do the steps or exercises, which I think I would love to go back to actually working through it when I have the capacity.

I still really enjoyed this book and was very moved and inspired by a lot of it. I think it’s really well done with good references and sources - lots of adrienne marie brown 😍

[Sarah Jaquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so beautiful, thoroughly researched, while also personal, intimate, and relatable. The authors wrote this as a labor of love, and it's a gift to all who care and grieve what's happening in the world.

[Laurel McLean]

Not rating this because it would be more a reflection of me not enjoying reading non fiction than it would be a rating of the book. This book is definitely focused less on science or policy and more about dealing with climate anxiety - lots of reflection and personal work and exercises (which I didn’t do)

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a retired psychotherapist who has also been active in peace, justice, and climate education and activism for many years. I was blessed to participate in the fall of 2020 in an 11 week online group facilitated by the authors and have followed their work since then at https://www.goodgriefnetwork.org/ . While part of what launched the authors on their journey was the climate crisis, they skillfully describe the “polycrisis” we now face on our planet.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is struggling with how to respond, emotionally and in action, to the challenges we are facing. Both individuals and groups can benefit from reflectively reading the book and exploring the practices.
I am excited to be able to share it with my online meditation community, Action&Contemplation, as we focus on Resilience for our 2024 journey together. The breadth and depth of this book will give us reflection material and practices to experiment with for at least a full year!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

As eco-anxiety and climate trauma become more prevalent among the world's population, adding to the growing mental health crisis, there's a greater need to find ways of dealing with the grief, anxiety, and depression so that we can move ahead into positive action. LaUra Schmidt and Aimee Lewis-Reau, founders of the Good Grief Network, developed a 10-step program to help people acknowledge the severity of the climate crisis, work through their feelings about it, and reconnect with others to make positive changes. This book outlines their work and offers the reader understanding, comfort, and exercises to help move through the different steps. Now that we understand the overwhelming nature of climate change, this book is a vital tool for helping us process our grief and pain and giving us hope for the road ahead.

Thank you, Shambhala and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

[Pam Conklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a much needed book for this time in life. There are exercises to help cope they can be used for any issue one may experience. I plan to reread and work through the exercises.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good ideas but the writing was not approachable, hard to get through, and felt like it was just a lot of buzzwords.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an ideal book for people with climate anxiety and it feels like a self-care book aimed at them. I found a lot of comfort in this book reading and learning from the authors and I appreciated their candor and the directness. The exercises included in this book were thoughtful and helpful while reading. The 10 steps outlined in this book were a fantastic way to think about and address something that is so large and affects us all. One issue I did have was the ebook version of this I read wasn’t formatted fully and as such, I missed some illustrations in the book the authors described.

[Luca M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like it didn't have enough content for a book of that length. There were some interesting thoughts but it could've been half as long and I probably would have enjoyed it more. The way it was, it sometimes felt a bit repetitive to me.

[Mewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's sometimes scary to change my world views. This book labeled that emotion well for me. It personifies my past months in ways.

I borrowed this from a friend and just ordered it after finishing because I think I will return to this book. It's filled with self-inquiry practices that draw on mindfulness, journaling, and embodiment.
As "We don't (just) need more information; we need embodiment and reconnection."

It clearly describes the connection between grief work, trauma work, and social (climate) engagement.

Here are some quotes that I might have messed up to varying degrees in my note-taking:

"Don't let anyone convince you this is the way the world is and therefore should be. The world must be the way it should be (but isn't)."

"Our inability to be compassionately accountable to ourselves regarding our participation in the system is what helps keep it afloat."

Unprocessed feelings build up in our bodies. We're all doing our best to survive. And to survive, we must make impossible choices all the time. Take time to catch up with those feelings so you don’t become cold or constricted.

Page Summary (Page 212 – the page with the most notes)
We need to feel the pain of living in a destructive culture to connect with the consequences of our actions. <-- But it is in our nature to avoid discomfort (and repress feelings).
Distance from our own feelings → Intolerance of other people's feelings and pain. (harm cycle)
People succeeding in BAU are often the best at not processing these unfamiliar feelings, addicted to competitive culture, and removed from feeling the consequences of their actions. There isn’t much (internal) incentive for many elites to slow down, as long as they're winning.

"Trauma in a person, decontextualized over time, looks like personality."
"Trauma in a people, decontextualized over time, looks like culture."

"The most important action is to stop pretending that our world systems are in place to serve humanity or the greater Earth community. The most meaningful work in this time is to unplug from consensus reality, experience the full range of our feelings, and bring this unapologetic knowing into our collective spaces."

"We must plant seeds, even if we do not get to see them sprout."

Can reaaaaaally recommend!

[Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Live in a Chaotic Climate is required reading for the anthropocene. It is a heart-centered invitation to welcome our feelings about the climate crisis, sit with them, and learn what they can teach us about the ways we should live as we step into an uncertain future.

The authors have expanded upon the materials from their 10 Step climate grief support group methodology to create this book. They take a deeper dive into each step, sharing their empathetic reasoning and their personal stories in greater detail than in the 10 Step resource packet. You do not have to have experienced the 10 steps to get a lot out of this book— it stands on its own. I suspect that this book would be a great comfort for whomever is seeking the kind of support that Good Grief Network offers but who has been unable to join a group so far. This book would also be excellent company for 10 Step participants after they have completed their group journey. I have participated in and facilitated these 10 step groups multiple times, and I also found the book to be of great value. It is helpful to return to the steps often as we face this extended climate crisis. This book is a good reminder of the lessons that we need to put into practice again and again as we grapple with living in self-destructive, toxic systems.

Aimee and LaUra’s well-honed facilitation skills are evident in their writing style as well. They strike a delicate balance between candidly sharing of themselves without hogging the spotlight, leaving enough room for the reader to create their own journey through the material. They are compassionate and nonjudgmental, and they grapple seriously with what hope might truly look like. They make an absolutely compelling case for why inner work — processing our feelings — is a crucial yet often overlooked part of climate work. This inner work staves off burnout, helps us discern the work that truly needs us, and realigns our worldviews with our values. They provide us with a heart-centered roadmap for navigating a world where everything is guaranteed to change.

[Elizabeth G · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential, holistic guide for navigating eco anxiety and climate grief
LaUra Schmidt delivers exactly what the subtitle promises: 10 steps to help cope with climate crisis through processing grief, uncertainty, and painful emotions while making positive changes. As founder of Good Grief Network, one of first emotional support groups for eco anxiety, Schmidt brings lived expertise to practices including journaling, dancing through grief, rituals for losses, and loving kindness meditations.
What distinguishes this from standard environmental literature is Schmidt's commitment to inner and outer transformation as mutual necessity. Steps build progressively: accepting severity of predicament, developing awareness of biases, taking breaks, reinvesting in meaningful efforts, practicing gratitude, sitting with uncertainty. Personal stories, testimonials, and Joanna Macy's work ground instruction in activist wisdom. With 83 ratings, 18 reviews, 34 currently reading, and 3,239 wanting to read indicating significant engagement since August 2023, this work demonstrates power of community based approach to climate distress. For readers seeking "Active Hope" with more structured practice or "The Future We Choose" with more emotional scaffolding, this offers essential companion. A holistic guide for reconnecting with ourselves, our communities, and our planet through acknowledged grief.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a vital guide to the heart centered way to navigate the predicaments of today, and a climate focused book that gives tools and wisdom for all the other aspects of the polycrisis. I just finished up a yearlong study group engaged with the book, and would recommend it to everyone who is ready to move on from business as usual.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is sort of like self-help for climate change which a rather unique idea. This is a good approach that may not work for everyone, but for those that pick it up it will probably be helpful.

Thanks very much for the free copy for review!!

[Samantha Daugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how it gave you opportunities to reflect on your own life and prior events etc. I also liked how it broke down each step, but felt it was a little drawn out. But I did like how they also brought in their own experiences and what happened in their own life as well!

[Lynne Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read about the intersections of environment and trauma, and how we heal, and social injustices.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review upcoming!

[Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good ideas, but poorly written. Too rambling and academic.

[Mik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminds me of how connected we all are. It’s not easy to find hope amidst uncertainty but this book contains profound lessons in enriching our lives and the planet.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great advice for looking put for your mental health during climate collapse