What do you think?
Rate this book
Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy
Listening Length: 6 hours
The first book from Joyce White equal parts civics class, history lesson, and call to save the Republic, Giving Up Is Unforgivable is a political manifesto for our present moment.
“We’re in this together.”
For the past two years, Joyce Vance has signed off posts on her chart-topping Substack, Civil Discourse, with these four words. In that time, she’s guided readers through a continued erosion of democratic norms, the unprecedented felony conviction of an ex-president, and the approaching specter of a second Trump administration. Now that it’s upon us, Vance helps us understand how to avoid burnout and despair and exercise the democratic muscles we need to save the Republic.
Giving Up Is Unforgivable is a clarion call to action—putting our current crisis in historical context and sketching out a vision for where we go next. Vance’s message is hopeful at its heart, even as it acknowledges the daunting challenges that lie ahead. She is the constitutional law professor you never knew you needed, explaining the legal context, the political history, and the practical reasons that the rule of law still matters, while also empowering you to do something—from the small (that conversation you’ve been meaning to have with your uncle or volunteering for your favorite political cause) to the big (starting a grassroots movement or running for political office).
Consider this the birth of a countermovement to Project 2025, a rallying cry for citizen engagement to counter the second Trump administration and save American democracy.
The first book from Joyce White equal parts civics class, history lesson, and call to save the Republic, Giving Up Is Unforgivable is a political manifesto for our present moment.
“We’re in this together.”
For the past two years, Joyce Vance has signed off posts on her chart-topping Substack, Civil Discourse, with these four words. In that time, she’s guided readers through a continued erosion of democratic norms, the unprecedented felony conviction of an ex-president, and the approaching specter of a second Trump administration. Now that it’s upon us, Vance helps us understand how to avoid burnout and despair and exercise the democratic muscles we need to save the Republic.
Giving Up Is Unforgivable is a clarion call to action—putting our current crisis in historical context and sketching out a vision for where we go next. Vance’s message is hopeful at its heart, even as it acknowledges the daunting challenges that lie ahead. She is the constitutional law professor you never knew you needed, explaining the legal context, the political history, and the practical reasons that the rule of law still matters, while also empowering you to do something—from the small (that conversation you’ve been meaning to have with your uncle or volunteering for your favorite political cause) to the big (starting a grassroots movement or running for political office).
Consider this the birth of a countermovement to Project 2025, a rallying cry for citizen engagement to counter the second Trump administration and save American democracy.
6 pages, Audible Audio
First published October 21, 2025
232 people are currently reading
867 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 24, 2025
Understanding where we are and where we need to go. Next up, read the Federalist papers.
October 26, 2025
This is an uplifting look at where we are in the rapidly evolving political landscape that includes words of wisdom, hope, and a call to action.
Read
October 29, 2025Well, only one of the chapters is a manual for how to take action. The overwhelming majority of the text recaps recent events and other history. A more apt title might have been, "This Sure Has Been a Lot, Hasn't It?"
October 29, 2025
More and more people are asking what they need to know and what they can do to help save democracy, civil rights, human rights right now.
I think this book is a good place to start.
The author calls it a “part call to arms, part How-To manual,” and after reading it myself, I agree.
It sifts through the noise of the news to focus on what we as Americans are supposed to have protected but are at risk of losing (or already lost), gives some historical and legal context in laymen’s terms, then tells us what we the regular folks can to do save those rights and protections.
I’ve read her newsletter Civil Discourse since it launched in 2022, finding it educational and instructional on not just the high profile court cases in the news, but how they affect / why they should be important to me as a regular citizen who values democracy and civil rights.
A theme that runs through the newsletter is also prominent in her book: we the people have a collective power, but to protect democracy and civil rights, “Americans must insist.”
This book gives us clarity, facts and tools to do so effectively. I definitely recommend reading/listening to it now.
I think this book is a good place to start.
The author calls it a “part call to arms, part How-To manual,” and after reading it myself, I agree.
It sifts through the noise of the news to focus on what we as Americans are supposed to have protected but are at risk of losing (or already lost), gives some historical and legal context in laymen’s terms, then tells us what we the regular folks can to do save those rights and protections.
I’ve read her newsletter Civil Discourse since it launched in 2022, finding it educational and instructional on not just the high profile court cases in the news, but how they affect / why they should be important to me as a regular citizen who values democracy and civil rights.
A theme that runs through the newsletter is also prominent in her book: we the people have a collective power, but to protect democracy and civil rights, “Americans must insist.”
This book gives us clarity, facts and tools to do so effectively. I definitely recommend reading/listening to it now.
October 24, 2025
3.75 stars
Read
October 30, 2025Great discussion of the current political situation in the US and history and importance of democracy
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews