This book is part of the Emergent Strategy Series. In this book, adrienne gives us a collection of love-based adjustments & reframes for us to move forward and give us a framework for doing so with compassion. This is a wonderful book on how to move toward the bright future we all see.

Thanks to Net Galley for the digital ARC. It took me a long time to read this book--although the message was righteous and timely, it wasn't something to speed through.

amb is one of the authors I consider to be a great teacher, someone who can walk you up to an idea and let you sit with it, add your voice and interpretation. Some of the lessons in this book are things I've thought about a lot (but that amb has articulated better), and some are concepts I'm only now recognizing as tenets by which I want to live.

I work at an organization that recently funded global grassroots efforts to hold governments responsible for the commitments to equity they have made. It's an complex process but at its heart relies on elevating the needs and voices of those often marginalized in society, that is to say women, gender queer folks, disabled people, displaced people, sex workers, and everyone at the margins.

I'm trying to wrap my mind along how the ideas in this book could apply to such large scale operations, but it seems like none of this work is possible without the internal, individual practice of accountability. How can we, we a society, hope to bring about this level of change? Some of what she is teaching is how to be in community and right relationship, how to fuck up and give grace, how to work with people who will think and do things in different ways. The answers may not be here but some of the questions that can lead us to them are.

Some of the quotes that stuck out for me:

On science fiction and the work of visionary writer Ursula K LeGuin: "I prefer the feeling of being in harmony to the feeling of superiority."

On patriarchy: "Believing that masculinity is an element of mental, physical, emotional, economic, or other superiority, that it exempts you from labor but also makes you more powerful, is disease."

On racism: "When you say, 'Ok ok so teach me,' we hear, 'My time and needs continue to be more important than yours. I refuse to research and read; I demand your labor.'”

"We don’t want an apology without the shifts in behavior, policy, and access to power, without the end of the monsoon of constant harm."

On solidarity: "Confusion is a colonial tactic. You can get away with a lot of oppression and displacement while people are dissociated, overwhelmed, mis- or uninformed, or trying to figure out what’s going on."

On capitalism: "Racialized capitalism, in particular, trains us to expect that some people fall through the cracks into unjust suffering; our cultural individualism tells us this is acceptable, as long as we aren’t the ones at the bottom."

On colonial legacies: "We live (and die) inside of systems that were imagined centuries ago by those ambitious and narrow minds of colonists and patriarchs. We live inside the lineage of relatively ignorant imaginations, which were obsessed with protection and domination. But we know so much more now."

On spirituality: "Our spiritual work is either shaking the foundations of injustice, or letting go of our reliance on anything that results from oppression."

Review also published on Goodreads.

‘Loving Corrections’ is the most recent addition to the Emergent Strategy series, edited and at times written by adrienne maree brown. This series offers practical guidance and suggestions for fostering collective power and belonging in our fractured world.

If you are a human living on this spinning rock we call Earth, then this book is for you. Lifelong activists and newbies alike will undoubtedly find something paradigm-shifting within these pages. Navigating life in this wild and chaotic world is often confusing and exhausting, but it feels a little easier when we have the opportunity to learn from and with great thinkers like amb. I found myself feeling seen, grounded, and encouraged every time I picked up this book.

In ‘Loving Corrections," adrienne maree brown speaks directly to those who most need to hear hard - and sometime softer - truths, encouraging readers to take what is relevant to them and pass on what isn’t. She has a remarkable ability to capture and impart wisdom in an incredibly accessible and direct manner. At times, this book felt like an extended conversation with a friend.

I found myself taking numerous notes and jotting down thoughts, along with further reading suggestions that amb offers beyond her own wisdom. They encourage readers to reflect on how we can grow, what we can share, and what we can add to. This framework was immensely helpful for my own brain’s retention and understanding, and I am confident it will be equally helpful for my fellow activists.

I am excited to get my hands on a physical copy of this book so I can re-absorb, annotate, and share this gem with my loved ones.

Thanks to NetGalley and AK Press for the e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

amb’s work always astounds. It’s hard to put into words how brilliant the work she does truly is and how impactful these essays are. The drawback for me was the conversation with her sisters. It felt disorganized, but still interesting. Grateful to NetGalley for an advanced copy!