On Activism, Friendships, and Fighting

Key publicity targets

• Review in The Nation
• Review in Los Angeles Review of Books
• Interview in Dissent Magazine
• Interview in Truthout
• Extract in The New Inquiry

Social media marketing campaign

• Pre-order discount and bundle sales 
• Endorsement and pre-publication reviews
• “Re-post/tag friends” giveaway to drive engagement and sales

Conflict and resolution are the lifeblood of social movements. How, and with whom, do we find lasting friendship, support, and joy in a world in need of so much repair?

In On Activism, Friendships, and Fighting veteran organizer and social worker Benjamin Heim Shepard traces a pressing dynamic of social movements: friendship and conflict. The project builds on oral histories with more than  thirty movement organizers—from AIDS, queer, trade union, community, Occupy, and harm reduction-based movements—reflecting on the lessons, meanings, and future directions of movements and collective organizing efforts. “There is a hunger for radical history – to give credit to past struggles, to learn from our mistakes and to improve our strategies for the future,” writes Lesley Wood. Oral histories trace the stories of these movements.

The book goes in depth into the reasons and ways the interviewees became involved in activism, the friendships they formed, and the conflicts they faced. This includes asking questions such as: where do friendships support or undermine these efforts? How can conflicts be resolved?  And where do people find lasting support?