A night of stand-up tragedy celebrating the new book, "I Want a Better Catastrophe" by renowned climate activist and author Andrew Boyd
When and where
Date and time
Tue, Apr 11, 2023, 7:00 PM PDT
Location
Havurah Shalom 825 NW 18th Ave Portland, OR 97209 – in person event, (registration link for in-person attendance go here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/navigating-climate-change-with-grief-hope-humor-w-author-andrew-boyd-tickets-571120144727 )
Via Zoom: Click this link to register to join via Zoom : https://www.havurahshalom.org/event/i-want-a-better-catastrophe.html
Havurah Shalom is hosting this vital night of performance, reading and discussion around what has been called "the most realistic yet least depressing end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it guide out there" (Foreword Reviews):"I Want a Better Catastrophe" by Andrew Boyd.
Doors open at 6:30, show at 7:00. Free and open to the public (use the links above to register for either in-person attendance, or to join by Zoom).
We will read some passages, laugh some dark laughs, sign some books, gnash some teeth, explore some of our possible futures via oversized flowcharts, not necessarily in that order. The evening will NOT be a boring book reading. It will be interactive, participatory, fun; it'll be a chance to come together and -- aided by gallows humor and some unusual prompts -- reflect on some of the big questions before us.
To tackle the climate emergency, we need each other; we need solidarity and laughter and all the rest. We hope to see you there.
**Even if you're not able to attend, you may order a copy of the book now (and maybe an extra one for a friend :) **
(Management not responsible for any side effects including existential dread, being galvanized into action, etc.)
“I WANT A BETTER CATASTROPHE” is 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 activist Tim DeChristopher to collapse-psychologist Jamey Hecht, 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 f*** am I recycling?"
He finds answers that will surprise, inspire, and maybe even make you laugh. Drawing on wisdom traditions Eastern, Western, and Indigenous, Boyd crafts an insightful and irreverent guide for achieving a "better catastrophe."