A whip-smart combo of self-help and political manifesto that is perfect for anyone who wants to save our democracy but doesn’t know where to start.In today’s political climate, it’s hard not to get discouraged. Isolated, doom scrolling, lacking a sense of purpose or community...it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the dire state of American democracy and do nothing, because why try when the odds are never in our favor?At this fragile moment in history, Emily Amick, lawyer and former counsel to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, alongside New York Times bestselling author and Betches Media cofounder Sami Sage, want to reframe civic engagement as a form of an assertion of one’s values and self-respect. This book is not just about voting, but about claiming your singular place in your country and community.Using real stories of regular citizens who have made a difference, Democracy in Retrograde is a choose-your-own-adventure map to civic engagement that’s tailored to your values, skills, passions, resources, and time. Whether you have only a few hours to spare or are ready to make a lifetime commitment, Amick and Sage show you how to make changes big and small that matter. Democracy in Retrograde will help you learn about much more than just political action. This book will provide a new lens through which to see a new and powerful light which bridges the personal and the political. In the words of Joan Baez, action is the antidote to despair, and with this helpful guide, even if Mercury is in retrograde, our democracy doesn’t have to be.
My best endorsement for this book is that after reading it I drafted plans for a civic engagement/volunteer fair at the library and I signed up to write letters for Vote Forward encouraging people to get out and vote (non partisan!)
Rounding up to four stars, because the message is critical. This is an accessible read for anyone looking to garner a better understanding of the US government, how it functions and how citizens can influence who is in power and the agendas they push. While I have to be honest, living in DC and being an avid consumer of news and political developments, this book didn't offer a lot that felt new or unexpected for me, but I do think it is a worthwhile read and the overarching message is vitally important. We can't afford to be apathetic, tempting though it may be, given how mentally sapping politics seem. But we are not as powerless as we may feel, and this book reminded me of that.
“We get to a point where the exhaustion is itself exhausting. And I firmly believe that the forces who seek to undermine our society, who seek to pit us against each other for their cynical gain, see exhaustion as a potent weapon at their disposal.” -Matt Rather
I received this book in the mail the same day as the first presidential debate. I didn’t start it that night because, well, to be honest, I needed to go to bed and pretend it never happened. I did however, start this book the next day feeling a heck of a lot of hopelessness.
As I got through the first 45 pages, I found myself continually grabbing my phone to jot down quotes. If you know me, you know I don’t generally write in my books. This one is the exception. 1. Because there are parts where the entire point is to jot down notes, but more importantly, I just needed to highlight all the fantastic lines that jumped out at me. I know some people were planning to get this one on audio, but folks…this is a book you want to highlight, write all over, and go back to read sections again, so I highly recommend picking up a physical copy!
This book will push you to really think about what matters most to you, and not just that, but what you can do about it. And no, it’s not just “run for school board, run for office, spend every waking hour fighting the fight.” It gives you things you can do whether you want to spend a few hours a month, a few hours a week, or make fighting for democracy your full time job. Do I think I am pretty involved? Yes and no. I know I am a heck of a lot more involved than many I know, but I also know I could do a lot more, and that there are people out there that are so much smarter than me when it comes to our government and how everything works. @Emilyinyourphone @Sami and @betches are a few of those people.
This book breaks it all down. You know when you have a question about the government and you know you should know the answer, so you don’t want to ask someone to explain it because you don’t want to seem stupid? I think we have all been there…and the thing is, they aren’t stupid questions. School House Rock taught us the basics, but it’s a lot more complicated for a bill to become a law. Our government often feels set up to confuse us, and as Emily and Sami talk about in this book, as well as Matt in the quote above says, keeping people feeling lost and hopeless only helps the people in power that want us to give up.
I know the idea of reading about politics after finally forcing ourselves to stop doomscrolling instagram can feel daunting, but this is a quick, information filled read that has a side of hysterical one-liners to keep your spirits up. I legit laughed out loud while reading at the pool, and may or may not have made sure to hold the book as high as I could every time that stinking lady walked by in her dumb Trump hat.
I could seriously quote more than half the book, as well as go on forever, but I know that instagram is going to cut me off so I will end with this: Buy this book. Read this book. Figure out what’s most important to you, and try out some of the ideas this book gives. What’s the worst that could happen?
Thank you to @gallerybooks @emilyinyourphone and @jopiazzaauthor for my gifted copy of this book!
A very genuinely helpful workbook on how to build community and get politically engaged; would genuinely recommend and helped me build a to-do list for this new year.
4.5 stars. This book was actually so fun??? I love books written by millennials 😌🫡 I’ve been following Emily on Instagram for ages, and I saw she had co-written a book and I was like YES GIMME!!! Thanks to S&S for making a digital copy available.
This book was kind of all over the place, but I kind of liked being able to bop around — it starts with a little civics primer, reflections on hope and hopelessness (BIG MOOD!!!) and then goes into a section on determining your civic personality. - Leaders/FIRE - Givers/EARTH (SO ME ding ding ding!!!) - Connectors/WATER - Creators/AIR
The next section is a detailed look at making an action plan, and I particularly appreciated their words on auditing news consumption (this was a hard but valuable lesson I learned in 2017!). I also love that there’s a section specifically for book clubs!!! So thoughtful!!!
THEN we get into a little bit of a Schoolhouse Rock section, which millennial me adored (and actually learned quite a bit!). I have a bunch of sections I’ve highlighted digitally, but I did want to call out some things that made me chuckle:
- “if you’re reading this in 2024, 2040 is as long from now as 2008” NOW WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT SKSKSKSKSKSKS 💀💀💀 (ouch but wow?!!)
- the absolute JUMPSCARE of mentioning Hannah Arendt as someone who slogged through The Origins of Totalitarianism in college (that book broke my brain okay!!!)
- referring to the Senate as “America’s most privileged nursing home” HAHAHAHAHAH SO TRUE SO TRUE (laugh crying omg) (section 7 re: where do laws come from and talking about the filibuster).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This initially seems like it might be a bit gimmicky and surface level, but it really did give me some hope and ideas for getting more involved and engaged. 5 stars for that.
The book that we all need right now. If you are feeling hopeless, anxious, or whatever adjective you want to choose, this book gives us tangible actions to make to get involved.
i fear this ate democracy or else’s lunch. even as an already civically engaged person the writing exercises and quizzes were so fun and honestly really helped me think things out!
This book was recommended to me by someone I respect. One key takeaway she got from it was the importance of participating in community as a way to defend democracy.
But I only got to page 23. The introduction was full of pop culture references I didn't get (I didn't even get the ones from my era), rehashing arguments I already knew (too much social media, lack of third places), and seemed to be aimed at those who are turned off by politics. That's not me. I just want to know what to DO. Do protests work? Do petitions work? Do these things work when your own representations are the ones organizing them? How does investing in your community help when everyone around you is just like you? How do I overcome my own fear and laziness and branch out?
I may come back to this one, and just skip the intro.
Reading this book, it did occur to me that I may not be a founder, but I'm a joiner. I thought about kickball, softball, Oaklog, trivia night, the 24-hour literary reading (and others), To Live and Write in Alameda, my book club of retired librarians, the block party, our neighborhood Pride parade, our co-op Girl Scout troop (ugh), postcard writing, how we used to go to more marches. I remembered that party I threw to try to get us all to do our taxes together but everyone thought it was a joke!
A good read for anyone (like me) who often feels hopeless/apathetic about politics and the state of our country. My life isn’t changed, but I think I feel slightly better? A win is a win.
As someone who feels hopeless and also overwhelmed by politics, this book felt like a smart friend helping me find my way to get involved. With fun quizzes to help define my civic personality, and easy straight forward ideas on how to get involved based on that, I feel more empowered and hopeful than ever.
A must read for anyone who wants to find a way to get involved and has no clue where to start.
I listened to this book. What I appreciated most is the actionable steps anyone can do to make a difference, especially in these times that often feel hopeless. I have used the script several times to call my reps on issues that matter to me and it was so, so easy!
Democracy In Retrograde ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📚 Self-Help 🎶 American Idiot - Green Day
One sentence synopsis: A whip-smart combo of self-help and political manifesto that is perfect for anyone who wants to save our democracy but doesn’t know where to start.
Book Review: This book is only for those of you who when looking at the state of the US politics right now you are livid and motivated to “do something” but you don’t know what to do or how to do it. For everyone saying oh my gosh, how can all this happen? What in the world can I do about it? Well, strap in because this is the book for you.
I really felt like this book was so well laid out and informative on discovering what type of person you are and figuring out how to get involved and make changes in our country by doing the things that work best for you personally. It goes into what type of leader you are and which ways of getting involved works best for you. It talks about how to diversify your news streams and why it’s important. How to have conversations with people who disagree with you about politics. It goes through a crash course in how our government works AND SO MUCH MORE! Seriously. If you’re curious, I’m going to include the table of contents in the carousel photos on this post just so you can see how much stuff covers.
I’ll be honest, though, my one caveat of this is that it was written before this new presidential term. Unless you’ve been living under a rock since January, there is a lot of highly specific current events that are obviously not addressed in the book and some of how the government is supposed to work is clearly not happening now. But there’s also no way that the authors could’ve known that when they published this back in 2024.
Anyways, if you’re looking for a way to get politically engaged and would like to know all of your options, this is a really good book for that.
Sad to say, I didn’t get out of this book what I was expecting. Understandably, this was written in July of ‘24 which was an entirely different landscape than where we are today, ONLY 9!!! months under the current administration.
Maybe a lot of this information wound have been new and groundbreaking a year ago but honestly I’m already past the point of learning how to contact my representatives (THANK YOU 5CALLS!) I’ve already begun to find ways to get involved in my local communities because I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.
The political science lessons and personality trait explanations also felt unnecessary.
TL:DR this might have been helpful a year ago, but the game has changed DRASTICALLY and we need to find new ways to play their game or change the game back in our favor. These “tried and true” methods are great but it’s not enough. I needed more.
As someone that was TEMPORARILY feeling civically lost after a move, taking a deep dive into my drivers to rebuild a mission statement and align my values was an important thing for me to do. The reflection exercises in this book are incredibly well done, the breakdown of civic personalities was well crafted (I'm a connector!), and the reminders that engagement should feel like an extension of who you are right now and that it's ok if YOU change.
Other reminders that I needed: The loudest in the room is almost never the most emotionally intelligent in the room. Idealism without action is for those that yearn for TV lives. (sic)
I do have to wonder how emotionally taxing it was for the authors to work through this book in this climate.
If you’re feeling anxious, scared, or apathetic about politics these days (like many of us), or simply want to get involved and have no idea where to start, this is an accessible guide to live a more civically engaged life. I loved the sentiment that civic engagement is a form of self-care, and that action is the antidote to despair. I’ve been a follower of Emily (@emilyinyourphone) for awhile now so I’m happy I finally got to listen to this actionable guide. I want to get a hard copy just to have on hand for reference and gift it to all my loved ones!
The girlypop’s guide to political activism. This is an especially great tool to set action items going into the new year / new presidential administration. I’ll probably reference this book a lot when considering how I want to be more civically engaged moving forward.
This is a great book for education on how our government works, how our voting works, and figuring out who you are as a citizen who has a civic duty. My spoons have been going to grieving the loss of a partner right now, but the election is still very close behind in my mind. Once I am able to, I fully plan on borrowing a physical copy so I can do the exercises and make a plan for myself to be more involved in my civic duties in a capacity that doesn’t burn me out.
I hate generational tropes but it’s a very Millennial coded book. Lots of pullquotes, some lists, and the “when they go low we go high” tactic which we all know, didn’t and doesn’t work. Even Michelle Obama has had to rework that a bit. And in July ‘25, July ‘24 seems like 20 years ago.
A lot of it is a workbook and while I did earnestly start out doing the exercises, I got tired of reading six pages and then encountering 5-15 pages of questions. The authors did state at the beginning that you don’t have to read the book in order and can skip around.
I would love a book like this aimed at grizzled Olds who remember life before Buzzfeed quizzes.
I skimmed this one. I bought it when I was feeling hopeless and sad a couple months ago. But now I feel hopeful and empowered, so I didn't need it as desperately. I am a member of my local League of Women Voters, I am part of the Postcards to Voters campaign, I regularly listen to my loved-ones who have different views from me, I am my church choir director, I volunteer at my kids' school, and I am a connector in my extended family. I have shifted some of my civic engagement from political activism to neighborhood-building, which I believe is even more important.
Very readable, with some tough questions to ponder! I screenshot so many pages that I went ahead and bought it so I could return it to the library early and spread the wealth. So many great suggestions for how to create and contribute to your local community and beyond, and not just for elections. The book was recommended to me by two excellent, intelligent friends who (don't know each other and) nearly never tout the books they've read, so I took extra notice and have not been disappointed.
This book gave actionable advice for practical civic engagement with a humorous and conversational tone. I appreciated that despite myself feeling quite burnt out and apathetic and introverted- many of the things I’m currently doing are suggested by this book. So I’ll keep on keeping on but maybe try some of the ideas to change it up.
Another point I took away was the aspect of our society’s isolation and loneliness. After reading Anxious Generation a couple months ago and having attended several conference where the surgeon general’s document of the loneliness epidemic in our country came out- this hit close to home. As introvert with social anxiety I am uncomfortable in many social situations- however I AM energized when I can engage in passionate conversations around education, social issues, and the arts- all things that this book suggests.
If you are someone who likes to take notes, lay out an action plan- this book also provides space for that. There are schoolhouse rock, Hamilton, and many other such references- making you both think, and provided accessible actions to help get engaged back in your community- everything from small steps to big ideas.
4 ⭐️’s because it’s incredibly millennial Civic engagement is so important and I loved both the sections that talked about it and the interactive prompts to truly reflect on what I’m doing and want to be doing. No more apathy or feeling like we as individuals can’t make an impact on anything, because that’s not true. This is less of a book and more of a guide and moral reflection. I was lucky enough to see one of the authors give a talk and receive this book. I feel much more at peace with my decision to get involved locally instead of focusing on what I can’t do at a federal level.
I was looking for a book that would be easy to understand and not put me to sleep while learning about American government, lol. As soon as I read “the vibes are off in America,” I knew I found the right book. Cannot recommend this enough for anyone who is looking for some hope in the chaos of a second Trump presidency, and trying to find a realistic way to get involved—but make it feel like you’re taking a fun magazine quiz to find out what type of activist you are.
While this book was published before the chaos of this year, I still found it helpful. Thank you to the friend who gifted it to me! If anything, it nudged me to get involved in the community on my terms and along my interests and that makes for more sustainable engagement I hope. There are a lot of tools, reflection exercises from evaluating your news consumption to reflecting on your hope outlook - some of it feels redundant but most of it was a good check-in. I think if you’re wanting to move from zero to some level of engagement, this is a great place to get motivated and get going.
I've been on a political book binge. I'm a little more optimistic about Nov with Harris and Walz as the nominees. The DNC convention was fun; I think it deserves a mention that lots of groups were represented with a notable exception. There were no Palestinian American speakers (and one Ruwa Romman did have a short speech prepared). Anyway, this book is a nice supplement, but is more geared to someone who isn't well versed in the process. I will be leaving my copy in my neighbor Free Little Library.
Glad I read this, probably everyone ought to. If we all actually did something with our frustrations, maybe things would actually change. Would definitely work best as a physical paper book.