ABOUT

“Courtney E. Martin is one of our most insightful culture critics and one of our finest young writers. She’s written a lively, compelling, and very important book for people of every generation who want to be fully alive in and to the world. Take in what she says and you may find yourself turning to that impossible cause you care about and ‘doing it anyway.’”
—Parker J. Palmer, author of Let Your Life Speak

That age-old quest for meaning—Who am I? What is my calling? How can I make the world better?—gets a 21st-century makeover. Courtney E. Martin abandons the empty “save the world” rhetoric and ’60s nostalgia that her generation was raised on and doggedly pursues the gritty truth about social change in contemporary America. It’s complicated. It’s challenging. And, yet, it’s still possible.

In Do It Anyway (Beacon Press, 2010), Martin deeply explores the lives of eight activists—not superhuman heroes, but ordinary young people searching for their own way to make a difference. Among others, we meet Raul Diaz, a prison re-entry social worker at Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles; Nia Robinson, an African American climate change activist out of Detroit; Maricela Guzman, a former soldier fighting to end violence against women in the military through the Service Women’s Action Network; and Rosario Dawson, an actor struggling to use her celebrity for social change while staying authentic in her activism.

In direct opposition to an older generation’s cry that young people are apathetic and disengaged, Do It Anyway reveals a new generation of activism and calls on young people to transcend school-required community service and paper-pushing nonprofit jobs in favor of the kind of work that keeps you up at night because you believe in it so deeply.

***

“Courtney Martin’s portraits of eight young activists reveal people who are flawed, scared, and human—which makes them all the more inspiring. An elegant, effortless read that confirms what we already know: young people continue to change the world.”
—Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, authors of Manifesta and Grassroots

***

“Do It Anyway asks the most difficult question possible: how can I make my life meaningful? The answers are varied, transformational, and necessary for us all.”
—Jane Fonda

***

“Unlike a lot of authors, Courtney Martin isn’t trying to sell you activism and why you should (yawn) get involved. Instead, she goes deep into the stories and lived experience of eight individuals. Do It Anyway is a treasure and deeply affecting.”
—Billy Wimsatt, author of Bomb the Suburbs and Please Don’t Bomb the Suburbs

***

“Do It Anyway…initiates a vital conversation at a time when the world and its challenges seem more intractable than ever.”
—Publisher’s Weekly