This was a very emotional read especially with what has happened in the world this year and this week. I liked how each chapter was dedicated to a different topic so you could prepare yourself for if it was really relevant to you as the reader. I feel like this would be a very inclusive book for a wide range of readers and it was very well done.

i've enjoyed kelly hayes' work before (though this one's a little different, since they're the editor of this collection rather than the only or one of two creators), but this one felt so timely to me in where i am. in feeling a sense of adriftness and lopsidedness that a younger me would have thought impossible, this feels like a warm hug. like no, it's not informative in the vein that people know exactly what to do when you're being hurt but by someone who you don't want to thrust out and also understand but transformative justice? there is no right answer there. but there's a reminder that i'm not alone in these feelings and thoughts, even when i can't or i'm too afraid to mention some of these feelings in my groups and relationships.

This book is very pertinent to current times as worldwide we recon with systematic failures of our systems. Though each letter was directed towards struggles that I had and haven’t yet faces, I found in each one a piece to carry with me and to apply in life

This book features grief, burnout, isolation and finding community to cheer on in happy moments and to rely on when life throws you a curveball. The advice comes from lifelong activists and organizers, who have spent most of their life dedicated to their cause, and now help provide a different outlook to help encourage people to keep fighting, while also learning to take a step back and taking care of yourself.

I encourage activists, community organizers and people who are angry or discouraged at the world to read this book, as I also plan to revisit parts of this work in different seasons of life.

Thank you Kelly Hayes and AK Press for this ARC!

Timely book, much needed. Whilst the letters were addressed for specific audiences, the hope and hearing translated to many people who perhaps were not struggling with that facet of community organising or activism. This addressing to the specific audience though, was really invaluable as a reader dealing with some of these difficulties in maintaining my hope and energy to organise collectively. I will be recommending this to my community, and to those who are new to organising.

Sometimes activism feels impossible. Burnout, grief, setbacks - they’re all part of showing up for change. Read This When Things Fall Apart is a collection of letters from people who’ve been there, who’ve faced exhaustion, heartbreak and the weight of fighting for justice.

These essays aren’t about easy answers or tidy victories. They’re honest and raw, full of hard-won lessons, quiet hope and reminders that it’s okay to feel overwhelmed. Writers like Mariame Kaba, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Brian Merchant share what it costs to stand on the front lines - and why they keep going anyway.

Some letters left me feeling heavy, others sparked something like courage in the dark. The collection is tender, searing, reflective, and above all, human. Even if you’re not on the front lines yourself, it makes you think about where you stand in the fight for change.

A book I want everyone trying to make a difference to read - especially when it all feels too much.

3✨ – Honest, thoughtful and human.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in November. I think this is an important work especially now. It looks at activism and crisis from many perspectives, and never considers advice to be one size fits all. I needed this.

I want to press this into the hands of everyone I know who is working to change injustice but struggling, burned out, feeling hopeless. Although very US-centric, it covers universal themes.

The book consists of letters from experienced activists. Rooted in the real world, it acknowledges that there’s no easy answers, but shares hard-won wisdom, hope and experience.

This collection of essays is both searing and tender, offering a window into the lived experiences of those who put themselves on the front lines of change. Each piece carries the weight of a personal reckoning: what it costs to stand up, what it feels like to burn out, and why, even when the world resists, organizers keep showing up anyway.

What makes the book so gripping is its refusal to flatten activism into slogans or tidy victories. It captures the vulnerability and contradictions behind the work. The essays wrestle with exhaustion, identity, and the bittersweet realization that progress often comes at the expense of personal peace. Some stories leave you raw with their honesty. Others offer glimpses of resilience that feel like sparks in the dark.

The perspectives are as varied as the causes they fight for, and together they form a mosaic that feels deeply human and unapologetically political. As a reader, I often found myself torn. I was moved by their courage, stirred to act, yet also aware of the distance between their lives and my own. That tension is part of the book’s power. It invites you to reflect not only on what activism demands but on where you, too, stand in relation to change.