Title: Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis Author: Britt Wray, PhD Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Canada ISBN: 9780735280724 (hardcover) Number of Pages: 287 Published Year: 2022 Reviewed by Anna Nieminen
Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis by Britt Wray is, deservedly, a much reviewed and acclaimed book. In the spirit of the many anecdotes that bring Wray’s research to life, this review takes a personal approach to discussing the help and “robust hope” that can be found in its pages for those of us who are feeling climate distress. Generation Dread is an unsettling, fascinating and compelling read that invites us to engage with our emotions to gain insights into the “psychological underpinnings and outcomes of the planetary health crisis, as well as its various dimensions of injustice.” It has introduced me to research and stories about the power of denial, including defences like numbing and disavowal, which is helping me to moderate my sometimes, frantic sense of urgency with something more like patient persistence. As a creative climate communicator and activist, I have felt energized and deflated, compassionate and infuriated, hopeful and fearful. It is reassuring to understand that this “toggling” is part of developing “existential resilience.” I have learned how psychosocial factors intersect with system-level “bubbles,” extractive mindsets and ways of living promoted by neoliberal policies that obscure the harms caused by unsustainable consumption. I feel heartened that eco-anxiety “works like an antidote to the culture of uncare” when it is attended to, contained, and processed with community support. I feel resourced by climate cafes, workshops, webinars and podcasts hosted by some of the authors and practitioners Wray references. The Gen Dread newsletter on Substack has been an enriching community space for coping and inspiration. Generation Dread, interestingly, uses the metaphor of the potential power of billions of people understanding their “eco-distress as super-fuel” for shaping a
Issue 017
Devour: Art & Lit Canada
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