Love Rebels: How I Learned to Burn It Down Without Burning Out
An exploration of how to balance activism and relationships without burning out. Balancing a devotion to activism with personal relationships can be incredibly difficult. Kitty Str yker shares her experience as an activist, street medic and relationship educator to help others pursue the important work while maintaining healthy relationships and without burning out. In what is both a call to action and a candid memoir, Stryker is open about what she has learned and her perceived limitations. Recognizing that it can feel overwhelming to know how to effectively make change, she encourages readers to consider how they can best advocate for causes they believe in, presenting different types of activism and urging readers to honestly examine their own hesitations. She also emphasizes that without taking care of our interpersonal relationships, many people burn out of activism at the very time when we need more people on the ground, and she offers practical strategies to avoid this and to encourage healthy relationships. What People Are Saying “Kitty Stryker has done it again. Love Rebels is a deeply personal, heartfelt chronicle of activism in our present age and an indispensable primer on getting involved on all levels: local, national, and online. This inspiring, first-person account of grassroots organizing is desperately needed right now.” Alex Winter, musician and actor "A lot of us are looking around right now and wondering what to do. We’re asking ourselves: What should I do? How do I avoid accidentally causing harm? How do I avoid burning out? There is no answer to these questions. But there are ways to get started figuring it out for yourself. "Love Rebels is part-memoir, part handbook for surviving and even thriving in a fascist takeover. It is a book about relationships aimed at the kind of person who is prone to overthinking, overcommitting, going it alone, and burning out. Love Rebels offers practical advice for helping activists live and work productively alongside other humans, despite our flaws and peculiarities. It would be an important book at any time. But today, it’s essential." Cathy Reisenwitz, Sex and the State “With the threat of Trumpian fascism mounting by the day, millions of people are looking for ways to become active and fight back. Love Rebels is the place to start. Its seamless blend of memoir, how-to, activist wisdom and poignant self-reflection provide an ideal blend for stimulating the kinds of difficult conversations necessary to construct durable communities of resistance to outlive MAGA.” Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook “Love Rebels offers a tender and insightful roadmap for all who are fighting to maintain their humanity while refusing to surrender their people and principles." Soraya Chemaly, author of The Resilience Myth: New Thinking on Grit, Strength, and Growth after Trauma "Love Rebels is packed with practical guidance for those who are new to rebellion or nervous about direct action, as well as those of us who’re exhausted from years of resistance. What makes this book extraordinary, though, is the loving generosity with which Kitty shares her own healing journey—an ongoing quest from burnout to boundaries and balance, with a healthy dose of accountability.” Jenn Wilson, founder of the International Day of Consent “In frightening, exhausting times, experienced community organizer Kitty Stryker is a powerful and grounding voice. This book will teach you how to fight the good fight to the finish without destroying yourself in the process." Laurie Penny, journalist, political commentator and author of Sexual Revolution: Modern Fascism and the Feminist Fightback “Love Rebels does exactly what it says on the tin. It demystifies not just activism but accountability and how to handle it when you fall short of the mark.” Riley Silverman, podcaster at Good Chaotic and head writer of Troubled Waters “Artfully balancing personal anecdotes with incisive clarity and humor, Kitty Stryker is preparing a new generation of activists and organizers to take up the mantle and create our own ripples of change." Corrie Locke-Hardy, author of The Revolution Will Be Well Fed: Recipes for Creating Community “Getting involved in activism for the first time can feel intimidating; some veteran activists may seem unrelatable and even hostile to rookies. Kitty Stryker is the opposite of that—an activist with deep experience and a generous eagerness to welcome new folks to the good struggle. Now, with this book, everyone can feel like they have a wise older sibling guiding them on their radical journey. You will finish this book, as Stryker says, ‘fertilized by curiosity and warmed by the light of compassion.’” Dr. Lisa Mueller, author of The New Science of Social Change: A Modern Handbook for Activists“Kitty Stryker walks the walk. She strives for justice and treats people with compassion and respect in every undertaking that she is part of. I've been fortunate enough to see Kitty's work and the impact she has on those around her. This book is going to move and inspire you!" Sean Nittner, founder and former steward of Big Bad Con "Kitty Stryker Strikes Again, as she lays all it out in her new book, Love Rebels. She talks us through, talks us down, talks to our hearts, talks to our minds. We listen. We read. We learn. We grow. Thank you Kitty." Vermin Supreme, political satirist and author of I Pony: Blueprint for a New America "Finally, a book that understands the deep connection between personal well-being and collective power. Love Rebels will fortify your fight. Kitty Stryker shows us how fierce love and sustained rebellion are inseparable. A vital guide for anyone building a more just world." Shane Lukas, activist, podcaster with Power Beyond Pride and author of The Advocate Advantage About the Author Kitty Stryker has been working on defining and creating a consent culture for over a decade. Based in Berkeley, CA, she’s the editor of Ask: Building Consent Culture and author of Ask Yourself: The Consent Culture Workbook, Say More: Consent Conversations for Teens and Love Rebels: How I Learned to Burn It Down Without Burning Out. She is especially interested in bringing conversations about consent into everyday life. carla joy bergman (Foreword) is the author of Joyful Militancy, editor of Radiant Voices and Trust Kids!, and the co-founder of the online worker-run art, culture and politics journal CAW.
