Customer Reviews

The Lifelong Activist: How to Change the World Without Losing Your Way

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As a fellow activist, author Hillary Rettig knows how grinding and stressful activism can be; those who devote their time and energy (indeed, much of their lives) to correcting the many injustices in the world are subject to stress, exhaustion, and even burnout. Luckily, Ms. Rettig - who is or has been active in a number of progressive issues, including feminism, labor, animal rights, and vegetarianism - is also a business coach. In THE LIFELONG ACTIVIST, she shares some of her insight with fellow activists and do-gooders.

Ms. Rettig aims to help the you, the reader, maximize your effectiveness in your advocacy endeavors (whether in a volunteer or work capacity) by tackling five life areas: your mission, your time, your fears, your relationship with yourself, and your relationship with others. The author takes the approach that you can have a fun, successful, and lengthy activist career - but only if you live a balanced life. While your activism can (indeed, should!) be one aspect of your life that defines you, by no means should it dominate your life. In order to avoid burnout, you must also nurture yourself and your relationships.

In order to help readers strike the appropriate balance - which, it should be noted, differs from person to person - Ms. Rettig leads you through a series of activities to help you clarify and delineate your goals, priorities, and missions. Oftentimes, sacrifices and compromises must be made between these; for example, many activists are torn between material wants and needs and their advocacy work. Ms. Rettig assures us that occasionally choosing to meet one's own wants and needs over those of "the movement" doesn't make us bad activists; rather, by nurturing ourselves, we're also nurturing our creativity, our motivation, and our capacity to effect change - all of which will serve our activism well in the long run. Ms. Rettig also emphasizes the need to focus on one specific cause or area of activism, so that we can develop our talents and actually see the outcomes of our hard work.

Additionally, it's important to recognize and embrace our unique talents. By fostering that which we delight in and excel at, activism becomes less of a chore and more of a joy. For instance, if you loathe public speaking, then representing your organization at a local conference is not the job for you - no matter how much your colleagues press you. Offer instead to help cater the event (if you love cooking) or design the campaign materials (if you're the artsy type). Forcing yourself to take on jobs that you hate will only lead to burnout, especially if it's a constant occurrence.

Of course, this is only a small sampling of the advice offered up in THE LIFELONG ACTIVIST. Among other things, you'll also learn how to: budget your time and money; combat perfectionism, negativism, and hypersensitivity; mentor and be mentored; self-actualize; deal with guilt and anxiety; delegate; and set boundaries. If you're feeling stressed out or anxious in your role as an activist, advocate, or agitator, there's plenty of helpful information to be had in THE LIFELONG ACTIVIST.

I read this book, as I am an aspiring full time animal activist. What I realized is that you don't have to be an activist of any kind to read and utilize this book's many, invaluable insights and recommendations. This book was very thorough; used phrases and terminology that was new and exciting; I've ordered several for Holiday presents for my non-activist family members and friends, as I know that this will help them improve their lives and their levels of happiness and contentment. GREAT, GREAT READ! I loved it!

"The Lifelong Activist" is clearly written and a pleasure to read. But reading it is the easy part. Hillary Rettig, the author, is an animal activist who periodically refers to "companion animals" (the non-hierarchical version of "pets," I suppose), and the book reminds me of having a friendly but persistent snout being wedged into my hand to remind me that it's time to get off the couch and out the door.

The goal towards which the book nudges the reader is not necessarily full-throttle activism, but rather a searching examination of oneself followed by a dedication to whichever level of activism makes sense. Definitely a worthy goal. But by no means simple.

One of the ways in which Rettig helps out the reader is by giving some ideas of potential blocks and how they can be overcome. She aims mostly at target readers who are young, idealistic, and suspicious of anything suggestive of the corporate world. They dream of being consummate activists -- throwing themselves with complete abandon into every cause under the sun -- but feel guilty about their desires for a comfortable personal life. Rettig, by contrast, insists on finding balance between activist work and material needs, and spends about a third of the book promoting marketing concepts for activists as a means for convincing audiences. I can imagine such readers being struck by her insight, and channeling their newfound energy into a more productive approach toward engagement with the world.

Readers who are not as hard to persuade might not find the book as much of a catalyst, however. And a catalyst is clearly what is needed to get a disorganized person organized enough to do the exercises that will take one the rest of the way. Rettig does offer help in that regard: compassion, thought-provoking anecdotes, downloadable charts, exhortations to be playful. The book itself, however, is rather earnest. Those who are used to reading activist blogs may find Rettig's book lacking in snark (humor with an edge). I actually found that a selling point, however. While snark is entertaining, it can ultimately be distracting. And Rettig's book is about acknowledging the limited number of waking hours in a week (112, more or less), writing up a schedule, and then getting to work -- in a healthy way, of course.

If Rettig writes a second edition or sequel, in addition to choosing a more colorful cover (the path winding up the grassy hill is a great image, but why must it be in black and white?), I would like to see her address the central question of WHY to structure one's life around activism -- or not. In this regard, readers are mostly on their own. Of course, Rettig can't answer those questions for her readers, but she could spend some more effort marshalling insights and anecdotes, much as she does in her attempt to convince would-be martyrs that self-denial is not a sustainable strategy.

Rettig makes frequent appearances in the Boston area, where she lives and works as a life coach. (In fact, tomorrow I'll be going to hear her speak at a local vegetarian restaurant.) She maintains a blog, where she posts short essays, information about her schedule, and clips of interviews. Check out her site if you'd like to learn more. But do it now. You only have so many hours in a week...

This book is water for the thirsty, parched soul of an activist. I agree with the positive comments made by other reviewers.

I have one sticking point: Her coverage of burnout. Ms. Rettig admits that she comes from a business background and that some people will not like that perspective. I am one of those. Only on this one issue, but it's a big one for me.

I do not agree, as she says, that the most common cause of burnout is "living a life in conflict with your values and needs." She qualifies her statement by prefacing it with "PERHAPS the most common.." The word "perhaps" means this is her unsupported opinion. I hope that activists who are suffering from burnout will seek and consider other information of a more psychological nature.

The life-values notion absolutely did not resonate with me. Think about an environmental activist who gets overwhelmed and has to quit the cause. Is the person more likely to quit, for example, because he feels no hope that he and those like him will ever be able to stop the butchering of the planet and we are all going to die as a result OR because he is ashamed and confused that he can't find solar housing in his neighborhood or toilet tissue from recycled materials? Hmmm.

Her thesis on burnout can mislead people who are experiencing it and interfere with their finding solutions. Every professional puts their spin on a problem, but pertinent research suggests that activists experience burnout when they become overwhelmed by the enormity of the problems with which they deal. The pain and sorrow seem endless and you just get to the point of emotional and physical fatigue. It's the trying to empty the ocean with a paper cup idea. Embedded in her notes section is a brief mention of compassion fatigue, which she implies is a precursor to burnout. I accept that; some experts consider it synonymous.

Later in the book, she talks about people being hypersensitive, which I found interesting and applicable. A great resource on hypersensitivity is:The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You

Her time and resource management information is really good. A great book if you are losing yourself because of your cause--not taking care of your time, money, and so forth. She provides some interesting assessments and gives important information to get you to look at what you and those around you are focusing on. This is essential information to keep all kinds of resources from being scattered and squandered. Yours and your organization's.

I found that her use of the feminine pronoun interfered with smooth reading of the material. I am not proud of that, and I fully respect and support her decision to do it. If more people did it, it wouldn't do that. Take heed. I found her one page "chapters" humorous. Why call one page of material that is related to the previous or next page another chapter?

We need more books to help activists. We all care about something, and we mustn't lose ourselves as we try to make improvements. We are all activists of one sort or another, and there is much work to do. This is a necessary tool for your arsenal. This book has much to offer in an area where little help is found.

This is one of my favorite guides for crafting a sustainable lifestyle. Rettig's insight and understanding are strong, and her solutions are solid, not gimmicky. She has coached hundreds of entrepreneurs and she applies her insightful expertise to the world of activism.

Rettig's goal is to teach activists to live according to their values, to create a career worth fighting for. She wants activists to hang in there, doing good work for the long haul. This means avoiding burnout. She asks probing questions and provides very practical strategies (i. e., sections explaining "Don't start a business simply as a way of earning a living," and "Don't start a nonprofit organization unless it's a necessary strategy for advancing your cause.")

I plan to reread this book as a New Year's resolution. I work with mothers, artists, and activists, and all of those groups will experience resonance with Rettig's writing. How can you give without giving yourself away? How can you be a truly creative person without judging yourself too harshly? And how can creative, giving types deal with real-world needs to manage their time effectively?

This is one of those books that reminds me how much value is jam-packed in a product that costs less than $20. The Lifelong Activist contains thoughtful, skilled advice, and an excellent annotated bibliography that pointed me to other helpful books. Highly recommended for entrepreneurs, activists, artists, parents--any person looking to craft a holistic life that expresses their true mission and values.

This is an excellent book for anyone involved in the areas of social service, social activism or non-profit work. It is very easy to lose yourself when working for the good of others, and this book helps you keep perspective and sanity in your personal life. I have one for myself, and I have given three to friends who all say it is a lifesaver!

Having worked in the animal rights 'sector' for several years and met many dedicated campaigners and some that have fallen along the way, this book is essential reading for anyone that is passionate about making change in the world. There is no doubt that it's not something that comes about overnight - the Lifelong Activist recognises this and gives essential advice to enable you to stay on track, not burn out, become effective every day and not lose your focus or your health, family, relationships, resources, and all the things that can get lost along the way when fighting for justice.
Animal rights, the environment, social justice issues - if you are involved in making society a better place - society needs people like you and most of us need a book like this to put it into perspective and make us all effective people for the long term.

Change requires time and dedication and "The Lifelong Activist" will help you achieve balance in your own life and effectiveness in your campaign in the long term.

Hillary Rettick's approach to social activism is important because it is a practical guide for everybody interested, not just the few who want to live their entire lives totally committed to this way of life and nothing else. She avoids the problem of limiting suggestions only to those because there is more work to be done than those few can accomplish. She points the way for most anybody to find a path of societal contribution while also pursuing an everyday life. She doesn't tell you what you have to do, rather proposes various options and ideas. A valuable guide.

This book was so very important and is very much needed to help you weave your way as a pawn through the incredibly unbelievable way that politics is being played out today, and is destined to be a great classic in assisting and debating a doable schedule in the near future! Ms. Rettig deserves highest honors and everyone who plans to run (or ruin) for politics should read this book!

Not only is this a great book and very helpful, but Hillary is great as well. I contacted her and she helped me manage my activism and life needs.