Rebellious Mourning: The Collected Works of Grief

"This intimate, moving, and timely collection of essays points the way to a world in which the burden of grief is shared, and pain is reconfigured into a powerful force for social change and collective healing." —Astra Taylor, author The People's Platform

"A primary message here is that from tears comes the resolve for the struggle ahead." —Ron Jacobs, author of Daydream Sunset

"Rebellious Mourning uncovers the destruction of life that capitalist development leaves in its trail. But it is also witness to the power of grief as a catalyst to collective resistance." —Silvia Federici, author of Caliban and the Witch

We can bear almost anything when it is worked through collectively. Grief is generally thought of as something personal and insular, but when we publicly share loss and pain, we lessen the power of the forces that debilitate us, while at the same time building the humane social practices that alleviate suffering and improve quality of life for everyone. Addressing tragedies from Fukushima to Palestine, incarceration to eviction, AIDS crises to border crossings, and racism to rape, the intimate yet tenacious writing in this volume shows that mourning can pry open spaces of contestation and reconstruction, empathy and solidarity. With contributions from Claudia Rankine, Sarah Schulman, David Wojnarowicz, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, David Gilbert, and nineteen others.

Cindy Milstein is the author of Anarchism and Its Aspirations, co-author of Paths toward Utopia: Graphic Explorations of Everyday Anarchism, and editor of the anthology Taking Sides: Revolutionary Solidarity and the Poverty of Liberalism.

Cindy Milstein: Cindy Milstein is the author of Anarchism and Its Aspirations (AK Press), coauthor of Paths toward Utopia: Graphic Explorations of Everyday Anarchism (PM Press), editor of the anthology Taking Sides: Revolutionary Solidarity and the Poverty of Liberalism (AK Press), and posts writing at cbmilstein.wordpress.com. Long engaged in grassroots organizing, social movements, and collective spaces, Cindy has recently been part of solidarity projects revolving around resisting displacement, gentrification, police, and prisons. Cindy was caregiver and death doula for three parents’ (biological and chosen) illnesses and hospice over the past four years while also battling with eviction.