The Quaking of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating Our Nation's Upheaval and Racial Reckoning

by Resmaa Menakem

The New York Times bestselling author of My Grandmother’s Hands surveys the deteriorating political climate and presents an urgent call for action to save ourselves and our country.

In The Quaking of America, therapist and trauma specialist Resmaa Menakem takes readers through a step-by-step program of somatic practices addressing the growing threat of white-supremacist political violence.

Through the coordinated repetition of lies, anti-democratic elements in American society are inciting mass radicalization, violent insurrection, and voter suppression, with a goal of toppling American democracy.

Currently, most pro-democracy American bodies are utterly unprepared for this uprising. This book can help prepare us—and, if possible, prevent more
destructiveness.

This preparation focuses not on strategy or politics, but on mental and emotional practices that can help us:
• Build presence and discernment
• Settle our bodies during the heat of conflict
• Maintain our safety, sanity, and stability under dangerous circumstances
• Heal our personal and collective racialized trauma
• Practice body-centered social action
• Turn toward instead of on one another
The Quaking of America is a unique, perfectly timed, body-centered guide to each of these processes.

Genres: Nonfiction, Race, History, Anti Racist, Social Justice, Politics, Self Help

250 pages, Hardcover

Published April 12, 2022

About the author

Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP, is a leading voice in today’s conversation on racialized trauma. He created Cultural Somatics, which utilizes the body and resilience as mechanisms for growth.

As a therapist, trauma specialist, and the founder of Justice Leadership Solutions, a leadership consulting firm, Resmaa dedicates his expertise to coaching leaders through civil unrest, organizational change, and community building.

He is the author of the national bestseller My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies and the forthcoming The Quaking of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating Our National Upheaval and Racial Reckoning.

Reviews

[Miriam Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. It took me almost a year to read this book. I read it in patches, and did a lot of the practices, often in triads with other somatic abolitionist folks.

I gave this book five stars because I believe it is 100% essential. I believe it is that essential in part through the programs and practices I’ve done with Resmaa for almost five years now.

Resmaa is not for everyone. I get that. I give this five stars because it is THAT essential, even if also triggering at times and hard as fuck.

Don’t do this book alone: do it with others, do it slowly, and ideally, learn directly from Resmaa and his team.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read sections not the entire book. A good reminder to not just be a bystander but to pause and then speak the truth even if people don’t want to hear it.

[Abby Crow · Rating 5 out of 5]

“…it is always wiser to prepare than to scramble.”

After reading “My Grandmother’s Hands” and listening to an event through Hennepin County Libraries with Resmaa Menakem I was eager to read.

I learned SO much. So current. So terrifying. Yet, hopeful? It’s a wealth of information that I will keep coming back to. Thankful for this real source (resource.)

“It’s like the process of becoming wise, or humble, or loving. With enough reps and enough time, you simply grow into it.”

“It’s just your human body being human.”

“Here are some things that are real: acting from the best parts of yourself. Holding onto yourself when you experience pressure and heat. Letting yourself stay with clean pain. Metabolizing trauma. Healing. Using your discernment. Acting with wisdom and compassion. Treating other human beings as human beings. Relating with other people instead of performing in front of them.”

“Being able to settle your body is like owning a car and knowing how to drive it. Being able to cultivate resource is like also having a reliable GPS, a travel agent, and years of using many different travel websites.”

“Don’t be afraid of being called out. It’s part of the process. There’s no shame in listening, considering a rebuke, discerning that it’s legitimate, and saying, “Now I understand. I was wrong. I’m sorry.””

“At all times, act from the best parts of yourself.”

“How long does growing up require? You already know the answer: the rest of your life.”

“I know what to do next.”

Please read this. Then get two more people to read it.

[Vince · Rating 4 out of 5]

Menakem asks the reader, "A new civil war is coming to America—are you prepared yet?" He argues that many right-wing leaders in the U.S. are actively planning for armed rebellion and the toppling of our current democratic system. Then he lays out a menu of body-based practices and contemplations, designed as a sort of resilience-training regimen for liberals ready to defend civil rights. This book is intentionally sobering and bleak in its outlook. And not everyone will run towards the discomfort that's required to prepare for sustained social conflict (however unlikely), or to overcome internalized racism. Yet I believe in the value of these somatic practices. The book is likely to be useful for activists, as well as committed citizens who've read My Grandmother's Hands (his prior work). In my opinion, it's best to explore this as part of a small group committed to racial equality—the social support, accountability, and ability to do somatic practices together will come in very handy.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profound

Absolutely, must read. I see why I had to wait months to get my hands on a copy from the library.

[Drick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Building on his previous book, My Grandmother's Hands, Menakem applies his focus on white-body supremacy trauma to his sense that we are on the verge of an impending civil war initiated by the radical right MAGA Republicans. So while repeating much of the material he discussed in the previous books, he tailors to how we prepare for and engage in the coming civil war. In addition to his discussion of settling and transforming our WBS trauma, he also gives practical advice about organizing, protesting and protecting one's family in a time of war. He also includes additional body exercises to face and transform Truma. This is a chilling scary book, only because it is so real.

[Shira · Rating 5 out of 5]

It sounds alarmist (and he has a long and a bit too cute explanation for “if we don’t have a race war it’s maybe because of my book”) but I think it’s what everybody needs to read and embody presently. He uses “bodies of culture” as opposed to people of color and this includes Jewish people, which makes this book helpful for my community… He also handles the privilege hierarchy excellently. I’ve done some of the simple body exercises with my 7 year old for emotional regulation.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited to get to work with this book, but ultimately couldn't continue with it. There's a lot of anger and trauma and fear -- I'm going to call it dirty fear -- on the part of the author that detracted from the overall purpose of the book. For example, Menakem points out that all of us suffer from the trauma of capitalist white supremacy culture (true) and then in the same breath, demonizes Trumpers as idiotic sheep deserving of excommunication, disdain, and violence. I was hoping for some empathy, if not concrete ways of engaging with the paradox, but instead got the same rhetorical dog-whistling and fear-mongering that he (rightly) accuses the right of engaging in.

The author indulges in rather fantastical analyses of American culture and politics that is sadly lacking in any citation but for op-ed writers. Any analysis of American politics, economies, and culture is incomplete without mention of capitalism: and there is no mention of capitalism in this book (or at least as far as I read). As a result, the author draws conclusions that are short sided, incomplete, and sideways.

So I considered skipping the polemics and sticking to the body practices, which by and large are excellent! (This saved this book from a single star rating.) The practice that teaches hypervigilance, though, is what ultimately caused me to lay this book down for good. I have a hard time imagining who needs to be taught a trauma response that most of us have to work hard in therapy to overcome.

I only read the first 90ish pages of this book, so there's a chance it all gets better later. But it's not worth the psychic damage to find out. This book did not make me feel resourced or empowered or like I had choices or agency. I'm a member of the demographic the author seems to want to reach (a white leftist who already reads, practices, and engages in anti-racism and who already has meditation, body, and movement practices) but I felt very alienated by this book.

[Thomas DeWolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has the potential to transform its readers, and ultimately our society. Once we recognize that all trauma settles into the body and impacts all we think and do, and that we must confront and heal these wounds, our world (personal and collective) will also heal. As the author notes, "We will only resolve our centuries-old conflicts and contradictions through justice and liberation. Now it is up to us."

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A year’s worth of feelings as I progressed this book slowly, carefully and then the majority in just one weekend. Now going back and reading again slowly. Hated it at first (too different from MGH!), then slowly accepting, then gobbling up with intensity when it was the only thing I could tolerate.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scary and very believable. We need to wake up

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having this book in my possession made it easier to cope with this bullshit election.

[MaryKay Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am currently reading this book and Chapter 2 reveals the conspiracy that has transpired by the Right-Christian Nationalists for several decades to undermine democracy. The collusion is real and why anyone could not see this coming when our current president admires Hitler, Putin and Kim Jong Un is beyond me. My conclusion is the educational system must not be including the Diary of Ann Frank in their reading list. What I have to come to understand is the highest value in this country is not its people it is Money. Obsession with not ever having enough money is an ADDICTION. All addictions have one common symptom, Never Enough, there is not bottom.

However the context is this any country was built by lying about it's origin has already set itself up for failure. This continent was inhabited by the Indigenous People. We originally made rental agreements to farm on their land and then later deceived them with sales contracts. We are a county that has In God We Trust on our Money! Even as a teen I could not understand why. There were 500,000,000 tribes on the continent when Christopher Columbus set sail for India, took a wrong turn and ended up in America. Instead of correcting his course he claimed this land as our own. Currently, we have nearly eradicated the Indigenous people to barely 5 million. To date there is still no national data base that tracks missing Indigenous women or girls. (Sexism is also rampant).

The first African slaves were brought to America in August 1619, arriving in the English colony of Virginia at Point Comfort. These 20-30 enslaved Africans were brought by the White Lion, an English privateer ship that had captured them from a Spanish slave ship heading to Mexico. They were then traded to English colonists in Virginia for supplies.

Approximately 12.5 million enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries, though only about 10.7 million survived the horrific Middle Passage to disembark in North America, the Caribbean, and South America. The vast majority of these enslaved people were sent to South America and the Caribbean, with a much smaller proportion, around 388,000, arriving in North America.
Impact: This was the largest forced migration in human history, depopulating African communities and creating immense generational wealth for European settlers in the Americas.
Childism, Sexism and Racism are prevalent in the US.

[Maileen Hamto · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Quaking of America: An Embodied Guide to Navigating Our Nation's Upheaval and Racial Reckoning” is Resmaa Menakem's poignant call to action to prepare for the Inevitable. Menakem cites the destruction of democracy brought about by the worsening of civic relations in American society. The author raises the alarm about the ongoing threat of totalitarianism and physical violence against racialized bodies. These are evident in the continuing assaults on democracy, increasing hate crimes, and an impending civil war.

Therapist and healer Menakem underscores the importance of recognizing the collective trauma among bodies of culture: Black, Brown, indigenous, and other people of color. The book provides actionable antiracist practices to embody resistance against White body supremacy through somatic abolitionism. Menakem explains in detail the intentional individual and collective actions aimed at preserving and protecting one’s energy in harmony with others fighting for justice.

Racialized trauma is an everyday reality for bodies of culture. Menakem’s remedy is much-needed in these difficult times. It is a heavy read: The sense of urgency about taking action is palpable. Violence will continue to impact communities of culture, and we must be prepared for widescale white-mob political violence. Menakem’s advice – anchored in his studies and practices as a healer and clinical social worker – is critical for creating a plan and taking action to alleviate anxiety and work to resolve trauma while preparing for racial reckoning and political crisis.

[Lauren Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Resmaa Menakem is a genius. Eloquently written, he explains in ways no other historian, researcher, psychiatrist or sociologist has for how white supremacy has endured, as a virus co-existing in all bodies in America. White body supremacy is preventing us from fully living into the promise of a democracy in this country. What he says about why, how and where white supremacy operates/exists in our bodies, preying on the traumas we carry as Black, Indigenous bodies and white bodies is profound. That if we don't "metabolize" that trauma, as a nation we will move closer to a perilous demise. This book along with his practice (Somatic Abolitionism) helps to build the cultural containers to support people to endure the discomfort from the 400 year charge of race, to repair and heal from it. Please know the practice is not a "one time training" but rather a new way of being. And yes, while Resmaa is a genius, he reminds us WE ALL carry infinite resource, including our ancestral wisdom to metabolize white supremacy; but we have to actively engage in reclaiming the most important messages that aren't coming from the cognitive, but from our bodies. This book and its teachings are a must read for every American who wants to build and sustain a multi-racial democracy and a nation where we all belong; a nation that honors its people and Mother Earth.

[Asel Kenova · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3/5

Although I didn’t leave this book feeling “wow! Life changing, everyone should read it”, I do believe it’s a helpful resource for those who are left leaning and center Dem/Rep as a guide to what to work on and do during this time social change. It was written in 2022 in prediction of what the election would be and chaos to come. Definitely not a book for conservative trump folk, talks a lot of shit on that.

It was rather repetitive and not a book to be read in one sitting. The chapters are short, which helps with pacing/processing and the countless exercises (which can be hit or miss). He gives grace to how we all will make mistakes and we all have some white supremacy to undo (regardless of our beliefs, race, etc.). He welcomes white bodies to do the work and get curious about it without having BIPOC folk do it for them. There are helpful guides on activism, deescalation, navigating racial dynamics, etc.

[Evil Secret Ninja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an eye opening and uncomfortable book to read. I found I agreed with a lot of the ideas presented but not all. Which the author says that he is not the ultimate well of knowledge. The discomfort I felt was in response to the subject matter and I feel it was warranted. This stuff should make us uncomfortable but should also make us think. Is there an upheaval coming it certainly feels that way where will I be when it all happens I do not know I hope I will be on the right side. The only reason I gave it four out of five stars was because some of the predictions did not happen. But then no one and truly know what the future holds.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good and necessary book. Full of great resources and was even helpful for understanding somatic therapy basics. Only minus one star because the "hypothetical" sections where the author talks about what could happen in an upcoming civil war etc got very long and felt a bit superfluous/overkill by the last 100 pages.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like My Grandmother's Hands, Resmaa Menakem writes flawlessly about trauma and the human racialized experience, tying in somatic experiencing practices that he has developed for healing racial trauma. Extraordinary.

[Marcia McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent look at embodied practices to heal ourselves of white body supremacy and to take care of the tensions that are occurring in our nation. It's a scary read at times. I also do not like the implication that we may need handguns to keep ourselves safe. However, it is a book I want to re-read more slowly and spend time with each of the embodied practices that he includes.

[Karin Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a very very long time to finish this and like My Grandmother's Hands it is a book to DO, not simply read. I believe that Resmaa Menakem is one of the most brilliant thinkers about race in the USA. His message is tough, but rings true.

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

The concept of the book sounds amazing; however, the book is based on pseudoscience about trauma and trauma treatment.

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

there’s a lot to do

[Sienna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Not an easy read but important.