One of Literary Hub's Best Books of the 21st Century
“[If] you talked to anybody who participated heavily in the waves of progressive organizing and collective action over the last eight years, you'll find this book in their libraries. For all of that, it still feels like a secret text, like the kind of thing you pass along to a friend hand-to-hand with a knowing smile. It is a guidebook and toolkit for hope, for how to make a more expansive future and how to survive these revanchist times."—Literary Hub
“It was a revelation to discover adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy. She is matter of-fact about the coming destruction we face—of our environment, of our resources, of our governments. Her philosophy, based on Octavia Butler’s guiding philosophy of the Earthseed books, is that God Is Change. Rather than run from it or resist it, we should embrace it, look to what the plants, animals, and genomes can teach us about adapting to survive and to thrive.” —BuzzFeed
"Emergent Strategy offers a pattern language and nonlinear playbook for waging love in dark, uncertain times. As such, it is a must-read for any pragmatist seeking to develop the practical skills and expanded awareness needed to transform grief and trauma into hopeful movements for regeneration." —The Solutions Journal
"This hybrid manifesto/spellbook/toolkit applies the most utopian ideas of Octavia Butler to organizing, arguing that movements must use biomimicry to be resilient, adaptive, decentralized, interconnected, detoxifying, fractal and iterative in nature to create a future worthy of earthseed." —The Rumpus
“It is the end of the world as we know it, thanks to a lot of reasons. Now is the time to gird ourselves for the fight for a new world. Right now I can't think of better girding than Emergent Strategy.” —Detroit Metro Times
"If your survival kit has room for a book, you’d better reserve that space for Emergent Strategy... brown’s book is a revelation. It is a manual for facing the most urgent crises of our time—environmental collapse, late capitalism, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy—without drowning in the enormity of the task." —Public Books
“Emergent Strategy is a lyrical, explorative, non-linear journey ... It’s a book for people interested in radical social change, who are willing to think expansively about what the future could look like, or are in need of help doing that kind of thinking ... This is what is so appealing about brown’s work—she is almost hopelessly optimistic. She refuses to give in to cynicism or despair, and this ability to dream wildly is part of why she can maintain such openness toward the idea of a better future.” —Colorlines
“Necessary, vital, and timely.” —Ayana Jamieson, Octavia E. Butler Legacy Network
“adrienne leads us on a passionate, purposeful, intimate ride into this Universe where relationships spawn new possibilities. Her years of dedication to facilitating change by partnering with life invite us to also join with life to create the changes so desperately needed now.” —Margaret Wheatley, author of Leadership and the New Science
“adrienne has challenged me, enlightened me and reminded me that transformation happens in our natural world every day and we can borrow from it strategies to transform ourselves, our organizations, and our society.” —Denise Perry, Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD)
“A word/heart sojourn through the hard questions.” —Makani Themba, facilitator for the Movement for Black Lives
“Emergent Strategy…reminds us, directly and by example, that wonder (which at its heart is love), is the foundation of our ability to shape change and create the world we want.” —Alta Starr, leadership development trainer at Generative Somatics
“Drawing on sources as varied as poetry, science fiction, forests, ancestors, and a desired future, Emergent Strategy speaks with ease about what is hard and brings us into that ease without losing its way. Savor and enjoy!” —Elissa Perry, Management Assistance Group
“Emergent Strategy is an examination of where our movements have been and an offering of a framework for resistance that is rooted in the miracles of nature, decentralized, collective leadership, and personal, relational, organizational, and movement-wide transformation. Brown not only inspires me to resist, but to do in the most beautiful, joyful, creative, sustainable, collective and effective ways.” —Andrea, J. Ritchie, author of Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color
