Fieldnotes on Fortitude: Resilience in Resistance

An insightful and moving collection of essays that cuts through the chaos and cruelty to show us how to breathe again and nurture the bonds between our individual resilience and communal resistance from the publishers of Fieldnotes on Allyship

FIELDNOTES ON FORTITUDE: RESILIENCE IN RESISTANCE is an anthology of essays written by 16 authors gathered together to share their views and experiences in recognizing injustice and in strategically fighting for justice.

Each section focuses on one aspect of confronting our crises. “Part 1: Two Democracies Walk into a Bar” examines the telltale signs of failing democracies. Essays in “Part 2: Authoritarianism in America” describe the state of our national condition. In “Part 3: The Arc of the Moral Universe,” the authors recount historic and successful steps in the rebuilding of a better American society. “Part 4: Repealing the 20th Century” looks to all that is being lost in the dismantling of the post-WWII economic, political, religious, and social structures that provided people a better life, and “Part 5: Resilience in Resistance” offers ways for individuals and communities to reject the mad dash to an 18th century America of enslavement, erasure of native populations, disenfranchisement of women, and the rule of wealthy property owners.

These essays are written to give insight into what’s happening now and why, and to provide strategies to push back to not just restore what is being lost but to re-imagine what can be done better.

The works are the voices of hope and knowledge that remind us that we are stronger together, and that We the People can change the world for the better—only if we work united to that end.

Clay Rivers is an author, award-winning artist, actor, and accidental activist. He is the president of the charitable organization Our Human Family, Inc., where he also serves as editorial director of its publications. Clay is a lector and lay eucharistic minister at his church in Orlando. He believes that society's ills can be solved by following Jesus's command to "love one another."

Sherry Kappel is a poet, essayist, and fiction writer with an MFA from the University of Pittsburgh. She looks for the best in humanity and is driven by empathy in her writing and in life. Her work is on Medium, where she also edits Snapshots, the Haiku Hub, and special projects for Our Human Family. Sherry lives in North Carolina with her husband, daughters, and critters.

Stephen Matlock (retired) is a part-time author and gardener in the Pacific Northwest, often overwhelmed by both words and weeds. He has been writing about his journey into inclusion and diversity for close to twenty years. In his extra time, he volunteers at the local food bank, has lively conversations in Haitian Creole with his friends on the island, and works in his town to build a livable community for all.