A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet

by Sarah Jaquette Ray

A youth movement is reenergizing global environmental activism. The “climate generation”—late millennials and iGen, or Generation Z—is demanding that policy makers and government leaders take immediate action to address the dire outcomes predicted by climate science. Those inheriting our planet’s environmental problems expect to encounter challenges, but they may not have the skills to grapple with the feelings of powerlessness and despair that may arise when they confront this seemingly intractable situation.
 
Drawing on a decade of experience leading and teaching in college environmental studies programs, Sarah Jaquette Ray has created an “existential tool kit” for the climate generation. Combining insights from psychology, sociology, social movements, mindfulness, and the environmental humanities, Ray explains why and how we need to let go of eco-guilt, resist burnout, and cultivate resilience while advocating for climate justice. A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety is the essential guidebook for the climate generation—and perhaps the rest of us—as we confront the greatest environmental threat of our time.

 

Genres: Nonfiction, Climate Change, Environment, Nature, Psychology, Science, Self Help

216 pages, Paperback

Published April 21, 2020

About the author

Sarah Jaquette Ray teaches environmental studies at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California, and is the author of The Ecological Other: Environmental Exclusion in American Culture.

Reviews

[Chelsea Pulliam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've personally never read a book that resonated so deeply as 'The Field Guide to Climate Anxiety.' I feel like this book was written about me, for me, and to me. Professor Ray pinpoints the exact emotional struggles facing young environmentalists as we look at a bleak future and feel at a loss for hope or real-world solutions.

This book is the light at the end of the tunnel I didn't even realize I needed. I'm excited to reshape the way I share environmental news with the public as an environmental activist, and inspired to change my relationship with environmental guilt to begin fostering hope for the future we deserve.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book looking for something that would help me deal with the emotional hurricane of June 2020, in the midst of COVID and the George Floyd protests. I was seeking something that would help me grapple with the emotional burnout of caring for so much at once, and to help me find the emotional space needed to hold both social and climate justice in my heart without it giving out under its own weight. After suffering a recent burnout at work that only served to detail my goals for helping the planet, this was the soul tonic I needed to pull me back into the present and help me once again find the focus I needed.

Phenomenally digestible and easy to absorb, this book hit on so many of the psychological struggles I've dealt with in recent years, and systematically breaks down how to overcome them. Ray explains, with seasonings of Buddhism, sociology, and behavioral psychology, that attachment to results or hope of an outcome only sets us up for disappointment and emotional collapse. She reminds us that yes, we are small, but small is enough when you see yourself as part of a bigger picture, and work to hone your sphere of action. Focusing on the positive progress being made, and learning to adapt by accepting that there will always be suffering, is the key to the resilience we must cultivate in order to be our best selves.

Most of all, Ray teaches that being forgiving and kind to ourselves and others will serve the world better than any dose of outrage and anxiety. Isn't our goal to create a better world? What good is fighting for it if you can't be a part of it yourself? Acknowledgement and the release of the guilt you may think fuels your fire will ultimately keep you from building that better world.

If you're looking for facts and ways to convince other people to join the cause, this isn't it. If you're looking for a sensible voice to help you ride smoothly on the tumultuous emotional sea of the 21st century, and let go of the overwhelming panic and guilt that pull you under the waves, then this is an invaluable book. Gift it to all your stressed out young friends - they will thank you.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

At best, the sledgehammer approach is not relevant to those who already care a lot, and at worst, it is destructive to our efforts to enlist more people on our side. The science of emotion tells us that such litanies prompt passivity, not action. Doomsayers can be as much a problem for the climate movement as deniers, because they spark guilt, fear, apathy, nihilism, and ultimately inertia. Who wants to join that movement?

This book was helpful in learning how to frame and teach climate concerns, but I'm not sure I left it with any actionable steps to change how I feel. The message "We're all screwed but it's not helpful to think of it that way so take some time to meditate or bake cookies" just doesn't do it for me. What I really wanted was for her to tell me what to DO. To say: "Jackie, you can't solve climate change, but if you do x, y, and z then at least you're taking the most effective steps to remedy your role in it."

Then again, I don't think this book was written for me. Ray is clear at the outset that her advice is meant for GenZ, with its abundant intersectionality. It was written for enlightened youngsters who won't blink an incredulous eye when she copiously references activist "adrienne maree brown", whom I can only imagine is too woke for capital letters. It is written for people who need their feelings mollified by thought exercises rather than action. And I'm afraid I will need to seek solace elsewhere.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could really be useful and calming read for activists (not only climate) but also for people who are involved in and learning about what's happening in the world and it's injustices and they feel overwhelmed. It offers an interesting perspective on many topics like: the small things that count in climate activism, how to build alliance with climate change denialists, how to deal with negative feelings towards the world and ourselves, fighting for climate justice, etc. I really liked that Ray gives you straight up to-do lists of things to change in your thinking or attitude.
And it would be really amazing if this vision of calm but determined and mindful "slow activism" would take into consideration how little time to act we actually have. I'm all for slowly leading to social change in many aspects of our lives but we don't really have the decades needed to slowly change our ways of thinking that are so ingrained into us after centuries of overpowering capitalism.
But still, I am very happy that I have read it!

[Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary:

Sarah Jaquette Ray’s A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety isn’t a book about how to solve the climate crisis. Rather, it’s about how to cultivate a mature, compassionate, and resilient mindset that will allow climate activists to pursue climate justice in a healthy and sustainable fashion. Ray presents a series of lessons about the psychological challenges that climate pressures pose, especially for young people who have trouble imagining positive visions for their futures. She also offers conceptual and practical tools readers can use to set realistic goals, overcome negativity bias in our own minds and the media, commit to self-care, avoid burnout, cooperate across partisan divides, and embrace narratives of personal and natural abundance.

Key Concepts and Notes:

--As a fellow resident of Humboldt County, California, it was a pleasure to read Professor Ray’s book. I’m really proud that someone in my community produced this piece of research.
--Ray’s main argument is that our efforts to educate students and citizens about climate change must be guided by emotional intelligence in order to effectively communicate the urgency of the situation without triggering apathy or despair. She demonstrates commendable humility by stating that she used to teach environmental studies in a way that was emotionally destructive for some of her students and herself; to correct this problem and take a more positive approach, Ray created the “affective arc of environmental studies”:



––Ray does an excellent job of articulating how demoralizing and discouraging it is to live under the shadow of an apocalyptic climate narrative. “Doomsayers can be as much a problem for the climate movement as deniers, because they spark guilt, fear, apathy, nihilism, and ultimately inertia,” she writes. “Who wants to join that movement?” (35). Instead, Ray favors “reframing environmentalism as a movement of abundance, connection, and well-being” (7). In my view, this isn’t just the most sensible way to address our climate woes, but also the absolutely necessary approach we need to help people engage in climate work in a healthy and sustainable manner.
––Encouragingly, Ray cautions against becoming overly tribal. She says we should be open to dialog and collaboration with people who don’t agree with us about the origins or intensity of the climate problem, or who have differing ideas about how to solve it.
––I found Ray’s chapter on narrative framing especially smart and useful. Her discussion of “progressive” vs. “declension” narratives was new to me, and I agree with her that both stories are true in their own way, even if neither constitutes the whole truth. Ray urges readers to ignore oversimplified or sensationalized narratives in the media, and focus instead on consuming and telling nuanced stories that engender compassion and seek common ground.
––I had a lot of critiques of this book, a couple of which I’ll share below. But first I just want to say that my disagreements with Ray’s perspective were extremely positive and productive for me. She’s coming from a heartfelt, informed, and authentic place, and I appreciate and respect that even if I don’t agree with her about everything.
––Probably my biggest disagreement with Ray has to do with her belief that “Climate change is inextricable from social justice issues” (25)––hence her use of the term “climate justice” throughout the book. I first encountered this idea when I read Naomi Klein’s This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate in 2014, and I totally bought into it. Since that time, I’ve come to believe not only that there are distinct and important differences between the climate movement and movements for social justice, but also that the climate movement should distance itself from certain aspects of social justice in order to broaden its capacity for effective coalition-building and implementation of climate-friendly policies. This is largely a reaction to rising culture war tensions in America and elsewhere that have revealed deep and profound disparities in how people conceptualize and advocate for social justice. Given that people already disagree about how best to pursue technical goals such as reducing carbon emissions, I find it baffling that activists such as Ray, Klein, and others seem to think that the situation will become more tractable if we start injecting demands to address, for example, racism, sexism, or indigenous sovereignty into that conversation. Practically speaking, I think a better approach is to cast as wide a net as possible when it comes to getting people on board with ameliorating the climate crisis (Ray’s strategies will help here!), and then use that momentum to push for relatively narrow but highly impactful policy goals, such as a carbon tax, development of carbon capture technology, renewables, cold fusion, nuclear power, or tighter regulations for industrial emissions. But time will tell, and I’ll be happy to admit my error if the climate justice model ends up being the most effectual.
––Finally, I want to air some moderate skepticism about one of Ray’s underlying assumptions, which is that solving the climate crisis depends primarily on humanity’s capacity for collective action. Again, this is an idea I used to fully accept but have drifted away from in recent years. Given the current hyper-concentration of global wealth and influence, I think it’s increasingly likely that the decision about whether to get serious about climate change will be made by a relatively small number of immensely powerful elites. Citizens of democratic societies may be able to play some small role in electing representatives or pushing for better environmental policies, but I’m well past the point where I think the choices of individual consumers can generate the scale of change we need. Additionally, when we consider new technologies such as solar geoengineering (which I have done here, here, and here), we see that just one rogue nation or even a ballsy billionaire could exert a significant impact on global temperatures for better or worse, the rest of us be damned. In light of this, Ray’s book might have benefitted from a stronger dose of “don’t worry, be happy” for us regular folks. I’m all for making climate work healthy and sustainable for those who want to go into it, but I’m also fine with telling most people to just relax and let it go if that’s not how they want to spend their time or energy. I’m increasingly dubious about messages that tell us “everyone is responsible” for taking effective climate action; even if delivered sensitively, the psychological outcome of such messages might be more harmful than helpful.

Favorite Quotes:

Reframing environmentalism as a movement of abundance, connection, and well-being may help us rethink it as a politics of desire rather than a politics of individual sacrifice and consumer denial. (7)

As a matter of survival, we need to think beyond eco-apocalypse and nurture our visions for a post-fossil fuel future. Our radical imaginations will also make visible all the good things that are being done, allow us each to see ourselves as a crucial part of a collective movement, and replace the story of a climate-changed future as a frightening battle for ever scarcer resources with one that highlights personal abundance––where there is plenty of time and energy to do the work needed to ensure that we can all be good ancestors to the many generations yet to come. (11)

People are profoundly disturbed by climate change, and being told that it is the fault of our own moral failings is not only demoralizing but factually wrong. It does not help us muster the stamina to stay involved in environmental work for the long haul. Instead, it can lead to various forms of self-erasure, or cause people to give up in despair, choosing short-term avoidance and apathy over long-term climate justice. (24-5)

Contrary to what social media articles, news outlets, friends, classes, and parents tell us, it’s not a battle between deniers and believers, or those who are wrong and those who are right. Rethinking who the “enemy” is can change our emotional orientation toward climate action. There’s no monolithic army of hostile opponents, but rather a fragmented group of stakeholders with disparate interests, understandings, and needs. (38)

Knowing that we are part of a collective gives us permission to rest. We can recover from our exertions knowing that others, who also have taken care to sustain themselves, can take over the work. We all must take care of ourselves so that we can step up when others need to tend to themselves. The perception that social change happens only on an individual scale creates defeatism. Of course we cannot solve the problems by ourselves. (70)

In general climate change is contributing to a terrible sixth extinction. But overall societal well-being is as good as it’s ever been. These two “truths” don’t cancel each other out, and of course, one could argue that the former is a result of the ladder. There are a lot of gray areas. The goal is not to paper over our feelings of fear and despair with a rosy perspective. Rather, we need to recognize that there is complexity and ambiguity in the world––good stuff and bad stuff. It can feel irrational or indulgent to turn away from the bad things that are happening. But it is possible to accept that some things are getting better while also imagining how to address the world’s intractable problems. Acknowledging the successes is necessary in order to identify where to devote our energies. (86)

Find beauty, savor the small gifts of being alive, see everything you possibly can through the lens of being blessed rather than victimized, recalibrate your efforts toward the small and local, collect and create positive stories, heed your calling by not trying to be more than you are, take yourself less seriously, and pause to inhale deeply and honor the moment. This is what it means to learn how to die in the Anthropocene. (126)

This review was originally published on my blog, words&dirt.

[Kawai]

An excellent book on how to center yourself in complex, intractable problems, hold opposing feelings simultaneously, and find love and balance in the midst of overwhelming grief and anxiety. One of the best books I’ve read on the topic.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I liked elements of this - the chapter about self-care hit hard, even though the burnout I'm dealing with is caregiver burnout rather than activism burnout - mostly I just really disliked the tone, which felt like Ray was talking down to the reader.

[Rekha · Rating 5 out of 5]

everyone needs to read this

[Kira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having worked for 16 years for a climate-focused organization, I’m not in the stated target audience, but I’m living a lot of the same challenges.

The content of the book is quite valuable. It both affirmed coping strategies that have worked for me and people I know, and gave me new perspective on my work.

So why only three stars? The promise of the title is misleading. This is *not* a field guide, which I expect to be full of examples and practical advice. It’s an academic work, including sentences like this winner: “Kimmerer’s non-guilt-based pathos helped me overcome my own affective dissonance with respect to guilt.”

Now, the book isn’t ALL like that! (I would never have made it through.) But there’s ample room for a more accessible version of this content, to truly serve as a field guide for navigating life as a climate activist.

[Rebecca Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5! This was really great. A wonderful antidote to paralysis in the face of the climate crisis.

“I want to suggest that if climate justice is your goal, you should ditch the green guilt and eco-fragility, learn to appreciate the nuances if hope, and take time to love, laugh about, and delight in the world and in your work.”

[Mir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, so there are many aspects of this book that I absolutely love, but for the sake of not rewriting it in the reviews I will focus on some key points that I resonated with.

One was the idea of self care being an act of resistance. I have been told this idea for the longest time, but never in words that I could comfortably get behind. Recognizing that we are all fighting for this cause in our own unique way made me feel like I was shoulder-to-shoulder with an enormous group of people that were previously invisible to me. We are taking shifts, but just like they are going to be there fighting when I am "taking a nap," I will be there fighting so that they can in turn rest. As a visual person, this concept really uplifts me. I have that same sort of ghostly imagery when I think about how I am charging for my artwork. When I think about trying to defend my prices as an isolated individual, I crumble. When I think about the millions of artists whose work I am supporting by not undercutting them, I am formidable.

I also felt a lightbulb turn on when she discusses eco-guilt, empathy and the ties they have to privilege. As an aspiring agnostic, it often doesn't feel like I have a safety net when my thoughts turn to the void. I hate apathy; I understand why it's bad, but sometimes it feels like it has a magnet pull on me. My instinct is always to self-minimize, like it's easier to erase myself or hide than it is to face my fears and own up to the reality of my situation. This idea that perpetuating doom and guilt is harmful to the cause really helps me- it's simple, it doesn't work. The idea that allowing my emotions to take hold over me also doesn't help, and often undermines individuals who are truly struggling and could benefit from compassion instead. Punishing myself for what I have if someone else doesn't have it is not helpful. These objective facts really help me to move on from the "baking phase," as she puts it, and helps me to not feel trivial when I channel those emotions into art or gardening, things that can feel so frivolous in the scheme of things, but make a small and meaningful difference.

I found this all encapsulated in her words, "nudging over nihilism." I once read a card on my boss's desk that read, "Do something every day that scares you." I think about that card all the time. At the time I felt it was too extreme, because I didn't realize how fear was at the root of so many of the decisions I made each day. It was just often wearing the mask if, "laziness." In truth, avoidance behavior stems from coping, which stems from fear. By doing simple things to disrupt patterns of behavior that stem from fear, I have begun to live with more intention. This leads to huge milestones for me in my personal life- big boulders that I would have never thought I could move by lifting small pebbles. I feel that, "nudging over nihilism" works in this same way-- by enacting small acts of desire, we are choosing to turn our thoughts away from the void, and instead visualizing the world we want to manifest for future generations. Hope is not some coin you keep in your pocket for good luck; hope is the product of acting on our desires for a better world.

I'm not sure if I'm making sense so I'll stop my fanatical rant there there and instead urge you to try this book for yourself. It's concise and I feel that we all have something to learn from this.

[Jane Torbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is good but not necessarily for people who are already very deep in the climate justice movement. I think it's something everyone wanting to get involved with climate justice or social justice of any kind should read. I learned a lot about my detrimental actions (on myself) and how my language and engagement in my own field can help bring more people from all walks of life to the cause. I won't say I put the book down and felt like things are looking up.Indeed at times I was pissed off because I felt the author was again putting the onus on our generation and the generations behind us to right the wrongs of our societal and economic choices of the last 500+ years. Mixed feelings for sure but am trying to see it from other perspectives and I do believe that if you can muddle through some of the contradiction the book holds, you can gain some insights that will help face the future. XX to everyone out there struggling with this weight- sending peace and space for your own wellness.

[An nika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this an incredibly helpful book to read -- even as I read it piecemeal over several stressful months. I think it was a really helpful read about sitting in the contradiction of reality / faith that you need to encounter pretty much any news today. Referenced several people who I really admire, and I think there are passages that I will go back to -- as well as references that I'll chase down. I'd really recommend it <3

[Sana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Such an incredibly empowering and insightful book, shifting the doom & gloom of the climate crisis to a much-needed new light of recuperation, hope and renewed drive

Sometimes the writing in the book could be a bit clunky and the references weren’t easy to follow

[Sophie Els · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be transparent the only reason I picked this one up was to fulfill a square on the Powell's summer reading challenge bingo, lol. It was interesting and psychology-heavy and I imagine would be a valuable read for many young people, but just wasn't for me.

[Delaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this for my envs class. overall was pretty good and interesting

[Sanjukta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I’ve read on climate action so far.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't feel like I finished reading this with anything to really do to help... however, I still liked it. I'd recommend it but it's not the panacea I was hoping it would be, lol.

[✨Q✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5. A really validating read and a wealth of resources for further reading. Emergent Strategy here I come

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times a little contradictory (advocating not relying on hope while also encouraging it; promoting resilience while also pointing out its flaws, etc.), but overall a very helpful and insightful book. The focus on the importance of climate justice was excellent.

[Beth Filar Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please read this book! written for gen z, those in college now; but a fab read for us all really, both research and action based; resiliency. Ray really pulls together all my recent reads/concepts into this book really - and ones you should read too: adrienne marie brown's emergent strategy, Per Epsen Stokes 5 D's, Bob Doppelt's transformational resilience, Rebecca Solnits justice work, Glenn Albrecht's solastalgia, just to name a few. This book was just what I needed as it ties it all together so many key ideas - find pleasure in the work, slow down/ be mindful, remember this is not a new crisis, find what you can do well and do that part, it takes a community, and you need to be able to dream of desires / envision a possible future.

[Taylor M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! This book is exactly what it promises to be. There’s so much great knowledge to be put to use in here, whether you are struggling from climate anxiety yourself or wanting to help others deal with it. Not only does it address climate anxiety, but it also it discusses great ways to have a conversation with someone about climate change and gives a new perspective on how to view addressing the climate crisis. It is filled with citations of other works and quotes from professionals (which I love in a non-fiction book) and is extremely informative while being an easy and enjoyable read. I highly recommend!

Notes:
* Environmentally related mental health issues exist, accepting this is the first step!
* Self hatred is not useful or sustainable if you want to create positive change
* Being resilient is the most critical quality for advancing the climate movement
* Understanding emotional intelligence is extremely important when wanting to persuade an audience
* Science is created by people, people have emotions, emotions affect science, we need to consider people’s emotions!
* Our society tries to sell us the myth of always being happy, this is capitalist bullshit — feeling like your life has purpose is a much more important and lasting feeling
* Rethink how you think about happiness — we can be doing good and feel great purpose and yet not be happy, we can be perfectly happy but cause great damage to our planet
* If we expect happiness as the default, then we will be less likely to be comfortable with negative feelings — which can lead to denial or erasure of ourselves
* We need to get rid of the idea of always needing to be productive. It is not productive to always be productive because you will eventually burn out. We need to take time for to nurture emotional wellness in order to produce the best work and be our best selves.
* What kind of work gives you pleasure? Once you start that path the positive feelings will come. You don’t need to feel good emotions first and then act. “Right thinking follows right action”
* Small actions are all we have — “ small actions and connections create complex systems”
* We have the impression that only those on and possibly high pedestals can achieve anything worthwhile — we forget that ordinary people who participated in grassroots movements were able to shift public sentiment and challenge structures of power
* Transformational Resilience: the three core elements to approach and climate disruption 1) reducing emissions 2) preparing infrastructure to be resilient climate change 3) building the capacity of people to cope with the traumas and chronic stress generated by rising temperatures and use them as catalysts to learn, grow, and increase personal and collective well-being and the condition of the natural environment (what this book is about!)
* “Revolutionary change does not come as one cataclysmic movement (beware of such movements!) but as an endless succession of surprises, moving zigzag toward a more decent society. We don’t have to engage in grant heroic ask to participate in the process of change.”
* We need to aspire to be “good enough activists” who don’t demand perfection or certainty before taking a stand and realizing that, although we may never win the Nobel Peace Prize, our contribution can still make a difference.
* adrienne maree brown suggests that the need for dramatic, visible action is a symptom of the patriarchy. To fetishize action and reject the less visible and less glamorous work of caretaking, community, organizing, or going to meetings, is to subscribe to a gendered view of the kind of work that matters.
* If urgency is driving your emphasis on action over other priorities, then you might consider rethinking its value.
* Urgency makes it difficult to take time to be inclusive, encourage democratic and thoughtful decision, making, to think, long term, and to consider consequences.
* We must all take care of ourselves, so we can step up when others need to tend to themselves.
* The myth of rugged individualism undermines resilience by making us think we are alone in our efforts as well as in our feelings of despair. Measuring success by the strength of our relationships (social capital) is far more likely to result in fulfillment than physical immediate results.
* Pseudoinefficacy: feeling like you don’t have power to do good, but deflate your desire to even try — your confidence in your ability to solve a problem will determine whether you even attempt to solve a problem
* *Believing in your efficacy* will influence whether you try to fix the problems you see — perceived, rather than an actual efficacy is often the determinant of behavior
* We need to actively combat messages that tell us that the problem is too big to fix, and to remind ourselves that small is all and that small is enough.
* Ursula K. Le Guin: “We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.”
* Yes, in general climate change is contributing to a terrible sixth extinction, but overall societal well-being is as good as it’s ever been. These two “truths” don’t cancel each other out, and, of course, one could argue the former is a result of the latter. There are a lot of gray areas.
* Instead of just absorbing all the bad news, we need to recognize that there is complexity and ambiguity in the world — good stuff and bad stuff. It is possible to except that some things are getting better while also imagining how to address the world’s intractable problems. Acknowledging the successes is necessary in order to identify where to devote our energies.
* Learn how to analyze stories: who is telling them and why?
* Go on a media diet and get your fuel from solutions media.
* It’s not “the end” of the world unless we resign ourselves to it. Reclaim this moment as “the beginning”.
* When we talk to people with curiosity, flexibility, and respect, in a way that shows that understand where they’re coming from, they are more likely to respond positively to what we have to say.
* When talking about climate change to others, make it about a personal concern for everyone — like human health impacts
* Empathy is problematic because it is biased towards groups like yourself and can be condescending to the recipient.
* Compassion encourages curiosity for others and how they think.
* Aggressive arguing gets you nowhere. We must shift the goal of winning our arguments to the better goal of building shared interests with people whose positions may be different from ours.
* Guilt is often anti-productive since the desire to not feel guilt is often stronger than the desire to right whatever wrong is making us feel guilty.
* Behavioral adaptations based on unpleasant feelings like guilt and self loathing are not sustainable and do not tend to last long.
* Don’t limit your area of social change to what you buy it don’t buy! What you consume as an individual pales in comparison to industries. Although we will to power as consumers, we have greater impact as citizens, community members, and social change agents who can do much more than not buy plastic utensils or pens.
* Appreciate items for how much labor and resources went into them, instead of feeling guilty for purchasing them.
* Make justice and liberation, feel good, humans will come back over and over again to feel pleasure.
* Hope is a distraction from action. Hope is longing for a future condition over what you have no agency. It means you are essentially powerless.
* We need hope that gives people new resources to deal with the forces that affect their lives and acknowledge that the painful path is the hopeful path.
* How can we get people to care more about the environment? — take pleasure at our work, slow down, and do the part we can do well.
* Self care strengthens our advocacy. If an oppressor is trying to deplete a person’s emotional and physical resources — stripping them of the energy they need to resist oppression — then any behavior protecting those resources counts as resistance.
* If the effort to thrive undermines our ability to thrive, we are serving our own oppression.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting thoughts on how to talk about issues - meet people where they are and don't try to make big changes all at once

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had promise. Research shows that some Americans are experiencing stress and emotional problems related to fear of climate change. Clearly, the students of the author, who teaches environmental studies, share in this stress. That's got to be tough.

I hope this guide will help Ray's students. But I wonder if it might be more useful if it was adapted to a wider audience?

For example, the book starts out by flattering the "climate generation" as especially aware of climate science and sympathizing with them as especially effected by climate change related malaise. But I'm starting to wonder if the whole theory of generations is overblown marketing fluff. Are young people today really that different from young people of the past?

As to climate, people of all ages seem to care, and suffer anxiety. Yes, there are a lot of young people at climate protests. But there are a lot of retired people too.

For their part, young people are not monolithic on the issue. Republican-leaning youth, for example, show more concern than their conservative elders, but much less support for climate action than young people who lean left. See the Fall 2021 Harvard Youth Poll: https://iop.harvard.edu/youth-poll/fa....

Despite media hype that presents every third teenage girl as a budding Greta Thunberg, climate awareness, concern and action seems to be less about age than about political orientation. And that should be no surprise, since it's been true with every issue from abolition of slavery to votes for women to civil rights to anti-Vietnam War. These are issues mostly of the left, whatever your age.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with writing a guide for young people. But I wonder how many young people will have the patience to slog through Ray's academic jargon and abundant references to other writers (she seems to cite about 200 different authors in this short book, many of them fellow college professors without name recognition outside the academy).

If you want a guide that will appeal to a generation with some serious book readers like Ray's environmental studies students but with many more Tik Tok video watchers, tweeters and texters, then perhaps something easier to read would hit the spot?

A good example is Jenny Price's "Stop Saving the Planet." It shares a serious message -- that you can't stop climate change from your kitchen with little personal actions but that you need politics and societal action -- in a format that's easy to skim, with lots of bulleted lists and plenty of humor.

[Lauren Stalls · Rating 3 out of 5]

had some good points but was kinda repetitive and lacked some nuance

[Wren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is what it says on the tin. Complete with checklists, thought exercises, and more than a little hope.

[reegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this book? more like this book read me.

while i usually avoid a lot of class readings, when i started reading this book for a class i immediately felt seen in a way that i have never been in regards to personal feelings about the climate crisis. this was a very eye opening read and as much as i related to a lot of it, i also gained knowledge and insight in regards to the interconnectedness of human emotion and environmental issues. this was an accessible and insightful read that i really enjoyed and will take away a lot from, and i would recommend it to anyone looking to further understand their connection to the climate crisis.

[Sydney Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I started this book, I had high hopes that it would be informative and empowering, but unfortunately as I read on, it started to fall flat. The tone is condescending and although the author tries to tie in other perspectives, I feel that her attempts at integrating intersectional activism are not successful. This book seems to be written for fairly privileged young people who are grappling with climate anxiety. The writing is not trauma informed, there are some things that come off as very abelist, and she seems to assume that her readers are (overall) grappling with climate anxiety without suffering from other issues. This book may be very helpful to some but it was not for me.

[David Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy criminy, what a book! This one packs more than a few punches, and sheds a brilliant light on some of the most pressing and overwhelming issues and emotions of the day. Ray approaches iGen (Gen Z) with understanding, compassion, gentleness, and some hard truths, while also delivering insights that folks of any age and demographic can learn from.

Highly recommended! Now to take a nap...

[Alex Kissling · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most important parts of this book for me was an exercise asking the reader to think about a positive vision for the future. It got me to think about the importance of pulling back from constant negativity.