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A review by thevampiremars
Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity in This Crisis (And the Next) by Dean Spade
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
“Activism and mutual aid shouldn’t feel like a hobby—it should feel like living in alignment with our hopes for the world and with our passions. It should enliven us.”
Dean Spade’s Mutual Aid is an extraordinarily useful guide. It’s accessible, digestible, and more helpful than I can put into words. Despite its brevity, it offers a far better explanation of the concept than Kropotkin’s famous book of the same name, and it goes on to identify common pitfalls and give advice on how to avoid them, introduce the consensus process, and offer a few suggestions on how to mitigate conflict and burnout.
A vital resource for those new to mutual aid and activism, as well as those who have been involved for a while – we all have room to improve, and this book is full of good insights and prompts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Misogyny, Racism, and Colonisation
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail