Alice Skinner

I'm a fan of Wreck this Journal (I actually have two copies of it.) so I was predisposed to enjoy this format which is aimed at helping people -- mainly young people, I think, but about that more in a minute -- to make their political ideas more concrete, and to help them find a way to act on those ideas and beliefs.

In a format that relies on the reader to create the final book with written, drawn, cut-and-pasted information, it gives prompts, and expects us to think about what those prompts mean to us. They range from a bit silly: "Stick in the dumbest headline from this week." or "Sew Trump's mouth shut" (Where you actually stitch the page with a needle and thread. Talk about cathartic!) to deeply important: "Check your privilege. List the ways you've had advantages in life." But across the board it is intended to make us think about our attitudes, our lives, and how to enact our political beliefs. Possibly it will help to change some of those beliefs, if the work is done with honesty. And why shouldn't it be? You're the only one who has to see what you've written/drawn.

The reason why it feels aimed more at young people -- and anything that gets them more politically active is a winner in my book -- is that there's a lot of social media exercises included. I'm not going to try to say that older people aren't into social media, that would be nonsense. But items like listing ways to say no to parents, and teachers, and other authority figures are clearly intended more for teens. But again, anything that motivates political and social awareness is okay in my book.

That isn't to say that it's only for young people. I'm having a great time with it, dealing with it the way I do with Wreck this Journal, as a kind of steam vent, a way to work through problems or conundrums. So if you feel you want to become more politically aware and active, but simply don't know how to start or what to focus on, give this little book a shot. It may help you gain a sense of where you want to spend your political energy. And who knows? You may find out things about yourself you didn't know.… (meer)