How do we grapple with hope and strive for joy, while also remaining committed to the messy and complex work of social justice? Does the chaos of a changing and unjust world allow for both? This book is for people who recognize in themselves a tension between a passionate hopefulness for a better future, and a frustrated cynicism over historical and ongoing systemic injustices. Drawing on Paulo Freire’s notion of “critical hope” and the work of feminist thinkers and artists, author and global educator Dr. Kari Grain, delves into the politics and promises embedded in conceptions of hope. Her writing interweaves the narratives of activists, educators, leaders, and survivors, with vulnerable personal reflections and interdisciplinary research across education, neuroscience, and critical pedagogy. Ultimately, she paints a picture of critical hope that embraces political and historical dimensions, and also holds space for anger, grief, trauma, and restfulness as vital encounters in the bigger picture of catalyzing change. This book encourages leaders of all kinds – educators, workplace leaders, parents, and citizens – to nurture “an education in hope” for those around them. To cultivate critical hope is not to remain hopeful all the time; it is to weather an ever-changing relationship to hope and leverage the vibrant spectrum of human experience to generate change – in self, community, and society.
Reader Reviews
This is a beautiful book with a powerful take-away: the critical part of hope is seeded and nurtured by discomfort and humility. Grain’s deep connection to teaching helps us see how we can enter hopeful space with others. For me, the stories that Grain relays of friends, acquaintances, and co-workers navigating critical hope were icing on the cake – it’s Grain’s own experience as an educator and a seeker, guided by justice, that really catches us up and shows us the way.
–Dr. Tristin K. Green, Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco and author of Discrimination Laundering: The Rise of Organizational Innocence and the Crisis of Equal Opportunity Law.
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It is a beautiful experience to read something that is so emotional, critical, and academic. I wish there was more writing like this.
-Emily Yee Clare, Anti-Racism Educator and Equity Consultant
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It is rare that one reads a book where the writer is so open and honest. One cannot help but admire the courage with which Kari Grain has dealt with the adversities she encountered in her life. On a larger scale, in her book, Critical Hope, Kari Grain shows an acute awareness of the challenging problems facing the world right now and the renewed strength and skills that will be essential to deal with these difficulties now and in the future. The American poet, Emily Dickinson, wrote that hope is that thing with feathers. In her book, Kari Grain makes hope fly.
–Pinchas Gutter, Holocaust Survivor and Author of Memories in Focus
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“I wish I had written this book. I have lived with the concept of critical hope without ever having had a name for it. This book told me something that I needed to know. Everyone should read it.”
–Dr. Douglas Courtemanche, MD MS FRCSC
