I Want a Better Catastrophe

Navigating the Climate Crisis with Grief, Hope, and Gallows Humor

Reeling from a crisis of hope, lifelong activist Andrew Boyd seeks out today’s leading climate thinkers, from collapse-psychologist Jamey Hecht to Indigenous botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer. “If it’s the end of the world, now what?” he asks, as he steers us through our climate angst in search of a “better catastrophe.”

$19.50 USD$39.99 USD

Earn up to 40 Points.

Description

An existential manual for tragic optimists, can-do pessimists, and compassionate doomers

WITH GLOBAL WARMING projected to rocket past the 1.5°C limit, lifelong activist Andrew Boyd is thrown into a crisis of hope, and off on a quest to learn how to live with the “impossible news” of our climate doom.

He searches out eight leading climate thinkers — from collapse-psychologist Jamey Hecht to grassroots strategist adrienne maree brown, eco-philosopher Joanna Macy, and Indigenous botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer — asking them: “Is it really the end of the world? and if so, now what?”

With gallows humor and a broken heart, Boyd steers readers through their climate angst as he walks his own. From storm-battered coastlines to pipeline blockades and “hopelessness workshops,” he maps out our existential options, and tackles some familiar dilemmas: “Should I bring kids into such a world?” “Can I lose hope when others can’t afford to?” and “Why the fuck am I recycling?”

He finds answers that will surprise, inspire, and maybe even make you laugh in this insightful and irreverent guide for achieving a “better catastrophe.”

AWARDS

  • BRONZE | 2023 Living Now Book Awards: Social Activism / Charity

About The Author(s)

Andrew Boyd is a writer, humorist, activist, and CEO (Chief Existential Officer) of the Climate Clock, a global campaign that blends art, science, and grassroots organizing to get the world to #ActInTime. He also co-created the grief-storytelling ritual the Climate Ribbon and led the 2000s-era satirical campaign Billionaires for Bush. Andrew’s previous books include Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for RevolutionDaily Afflictions: The Agony of Being Connected to Everything in the Universe, and Life’s Little Deconstruction Book: Self-Help for the Post-Hip. His lifelong ambition, cribbed from Milan Kundera, is “to unite the utmost seriousness of question with the utmost lightness of form.” Andrew lives in New York City.

View Author Profile
Book Awards

BRONZE | 2023 Living Now Book Awards: Social Activism / Charity

Additional Book Resources

Book Specifications

ISBN: 9780865719835

Page Count: 416

Dimensions: 6 × 9 × 1.02 in

Publication Date: February 14, 2023

Images: Black & White Images + 3 Page Foldout

Audiobook Narrator: Chris Baetens

Audiobook Length: 12:16:46

You Might Also Like

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “I Want a Better Catastrophe”

Give the Gift of
Social Change

Give the Gift of Social Change

Your support contributes to the amplification of voices that strive for progress, making it a thoughtful and impactful present for any occasion. Join us in fostering a more informed and compassionate world.

Select your currency