Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age

by Joanna Macy

Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age

Genres: Psychology, Philosophy

194 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Dr. Joanna Rogers Macy (1929-2025), activist, ecologist and author, was one of the pioneers of engaged Buddhism. Her online work includes the article "World as Lover, World as Self"; "Bestiary" (an ode to wildlife); Nuclear Guardianship, her testimony at the World Uranium Hearings in Salzburg, 1992; and The Vegan Vision, on the ethics of a vegan diet. Her other books include Mutual Causality in Buddhism and General Systems Theory: The Dharma of Natural Systems, World as Lover, World as Self and Rilke's Book of Hours.

Reviews

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a challenging book to read. I read it in the context of taking a leadership course in peace work. Facing my fears freed me to work without overanxiety.

[Jan Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first learned the idea of despair-work when Dr. Macy's essay "Despair-Work" was included in the 1982 Physicians For Social Responsibility handbook. That essay changed my life: made it possible, even healthy, for me to face my life-long despair about nuclear stockpiles and the madness of maintaining them.
Now I have reread it in response to climate change despair: perhaps if we'd addressed the question of maintaining nuclear stockpiles 50 years ago, we'd be less on the knife's edge now, but here we are, and I need to be able to move to work. Despair and Personal Power describes a way to accept the grief, work with the pain, and come out able to move. It's not easy, but it's doable, and that's all I need.