Reeling from a crisis of hope, lifelong activist Andrew Boyd seeks out today's leading climate thinkers, from collapse-psychologist Jamey Hecht to Indigenous botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer. "If it's the end of the world, now what?" he asks, as he steers us through our climate angst in search of a "better catastrophe."

An existential manual for tragic optimists, can-do pessimists, and compassionate doomers

With global warming projected to rocket past the 1.5°C limit, lifelong activist Andrew Boyd is thrown into a crisis of hope, and off on a quest to learn how to live with the "impossible news" of our climate doom.

He searches out eight of today's leading climate thinkers — from activist Tim DeChristopher to collapse-psychologist Jamey Hecht, grassroots strategist adrienne maree brown, eco-philosopher Joana Macy, and Indigenous botanist Robin Wall Kimmerer — asking them: "Is it really the end of the world? and if so, now what?"

With gallows humor and a broken heart, Boyd steers readers through their climate angst as he walks his own. Boyd's journey takes him from storm-battered coastlines to pipeline blockades and "hopelessness workshops." Along the way, he maps out our existential options, and tackles some familiar dilemmas: "Should I bring kids into such a world?" "Can I lose hope when others can't afford to?" and "Why the fuck am I recycling?"

He finds answers that will surprise, inspire, and maybe even make you laugh. Drawing on wisdom traditions Eastern, Western, and Indigenous, Boyd crafts an insightful and irreverent guide for achieving a "better catastrophe."

This is vital reading for everyone navigating climate anxiety and grief as our world hurtles towards an unthinkable crisis.

"The book is stunning. By delivering its devastating news in imaginative, engaging, and sometimes even hilarious ways, it marks the emergence of a new and genuinely exciting kind of realism."
—Brian Eno, musician and environmentalist

"Time is clearly short—but I Want a Better Catastrophe proves it's never too late for a good laugh, a good cry, and a good call to action!"
—Bill McKibben, author, The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon

"A rowdy, taboo-busting get-together of climate emergency thinkers."
—Josephine Ferorelli, co-founder, Conceivable Future

For readers of Greta Thunberg, Naomi Klein, Elizabeth Kolbert, Katharien Hayhoe, Kim Stanely Robinson, Margaret Klein Salamon, Sarah Jaquette Ray.