Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against “the Apocalypse”

Lessons for Survival is a powerful and moving meditation on race, climate, environmental justice, and what it takes to find shelter in an era of turbulent intersecting crises.

Through a series of pilgrimages, Raboteau explores the inner life of Black womanhood, motherhood, and the brutalities and possibilities of cities, while celebrating the beauty and fragility of nature.

This innovative work of reportage and autobiography stitches together multiple stories of protection, offering a profound sense of hope.

With camera in hand, Raboteau goes in search of birds, fluttering in the air or painted on buildings, and city parks where her children may safely play while avoiding pollution, pandemics, and the police.

She ventures abroad to learn from Indigenous peoples, and in her own family and community, she discovers the most intimate examples of resilience.

Lessons for Survival is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the intersections of race, climate, and environmental justice, and how to find hope and resilience in an uncertain world.