The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart

Finalist, 2024 Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction
Finalist, 2024 Writers' Trust Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing

These days, everyone feels insecure. We are financially stressed and emotionally overwhelmed. The status quo isn’t working for anyone, even those who appear to have it all. What is going on?

In this urgent cultural diagnosis, author and activist Astra Taylor exposes how seemingly disparate crises―rising inequality and declining mental health, the ecological emergency, and the threat of authoritarianism―originate from a social order built on insecurity. From home ownership and education to the wellness industry and policing, many of the institutions and systems that promise to make us more secure actually undermine us.

Mixing social critique, memoir, history, political analysis, and philosophy, this genre-bending book rethinks both insecurity and security from the ground up. By facing our existential insecurity and embracing our vulnerability, Taylor argues, we can begin to develop more caring, inclusive, and sustainable forms of security to help us better weather the challenges ahead. The Age of Insecurity will transform how you understand yourself and society―while illuminating a path toward meaningful change.

ASTRA TAYLOR is a filmmaker, writer, and political organizer, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Athens, Georgia; she currently lives in New York. Her latest book is Remake the World: Essays, Reflections, Rebellions, and her other books include the American Book Award winner The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age and Democracy May Not Exist but We'll Miss It When It's Gone. Her documentary films include What Is Democracy? and Examined Life. She regularly writes for major publications, has toured with the band Neutral Milk Hotel, and co-founded the Debt Collective.