Jane Goodall Releases ‘The Book of Hope’ About Fighting Climate Change With Optimism

The more you learn about the climate crisis, the less hope you probably have. But according to legendary anthropologist Jane Goodall, hope is a key ingredient in tackling the climate emergency, the coronavirus pandemic, and saving humanity. And that is the subject of Jane Goodall’s newest book, The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times.

Keep reading to learn more about the book, which comes out today, Oct. 19, 2021.

Goodall co-wrote the book with Douglas Abrams, who co-authored The Book of Joy with the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu; in fact, The Book of Hope is part of the same series as The Book of Joy, called the Global Icons Series. The pair wrote the book along with Gail Hudson, who has written multiple books with Goodall.

The Book of Hope is structured around a conversation between Goodall and Abrams about hope. According to Goodall’s website, it breaks down Goodall’s four “Reasons for Hope,” which consist of the Human Intellect, the Indomitable Human Spirit, the Power of Young People, and the Resilience of Nature. Throughout the work, Goodall shares her life stories (one of her top tactics for “reaching people’s hearts”) as a way of showing how she has become so hopeful.

And she hopes that the book will inspire young people to be more positive, and then use that positive energy to continue taking climate action.

"It's mostly because people are so overwhelmed by the magnitude of our folly that they feel helpless," Goodall says in the book, as per NPR.

Abrams plays “devil’s advocate” in the book, as Goodall noted on the latest episode of the WTF with Marc Maron podcast — but no dose of reality is enough to take down her spirit, hope, or sense of humor.

“I was told that I shouldn't spend so much time at the beginning of the book talking about all the things that have gone wrong and I said, if I don't do that, people will say, ‘Oh Jane’s just looking at the world through rose colored spectacles, she doesn't understand.’ Well, I do. I understand very, very well,” Goodall told Maron on the podcast.

“So, as we definitely are living through pretty dark times, I suddenly thought ... it's as though we’re in a great, big, dark tunnel and there's all these obstacles and pitfalls and things which seem impossible to surmount or to cross,” Goodall continued. “But right at the end of that tunnel is a little pinprick of light. And that's the hope that we are working to reach.”

On several occasions throughout the pandemic, Goodall has stated that our disrespect of animals and the environment is a big reason we have COVID-19 — and the climate crisis — and she reiterates that in The Book of Hope.

"I personally believe that animals have as much right to inhabit this planet as we do," she says in the book, as per NPR. She also points out that humans are smart enough to innovate our way out of the climate crisis, noting that the keys will be "renewable energy, regenerative farming and permaculture, moving toward a plant-based diet."

Goodall has accomplished so much and inspired so many throughout her decades-long career, and her advice is certainly worth listening to.