The Quaking of America - by Resmaa Menakem (Paperback)

About the Book

"The New York Times bestselling author of My Grandmother's Hands surveys the deteriorating political climate and presents an urgent call for action to save ourselves and our country"--

Book Synopsis

The New York Times bestselling author of My Grandmother's Hands surveys America's deteriorating democracy and offers embodied practices to help us protect ourselves and our country.

"All of us need to read this book--and then act on it."--Angela Rye, NPR political analyst and former CNN commentator

"Resmaa Menakem is one of our country's most gifted racial healers. His brilliant new book could not be more timely."--Michael Eric Dyson, author of Entertaining Race and Long Time Coming

In The Quaking of America, therapist and trauma specialist Resmaa Menakem takes readers through somatic processes addressing the growing threat of white-supremacist political violence.

Through the coordinated repetition of lies, anti-democratic elements in American society are working to incite mass radicalization, widespread chaos, and a collective trauma response in tens of millions of American bodies. Currently, most of us are utterly unprepared for this potential mayhem. This book can help prepare us--and possibly prevent further destruction. This preparation focuses not on strategy or politics, but on practices that can help us

Build presence and discernment in our bodies

Settle our bodies during the heat of conflict

Maintain our safety, sanity, and stability in dangerous situations

Heal our personal and collective racialized trauma

Practice embodied social action

Turn toward instead of on one another

The Quaking of America is a unique and perfectly timed guide to help us navigate our widespread upheaval and build an antiracist culture.

Review Quotes

"Resmaa Menakem is one of our country's most gifted racial healers. His brilliant new book could not be more timely--a volume our country, our bodies, and our humanity desperately need. The Quaking of America offers wisdom and liberation, not only for Black, Brown, or Indigenous folk, but for all Americans."--Michael Eric Dyson, author of Entertaining Race and Long Time Coming

"Resmaa Menakem's The Quaking of America is a brilliant and effective guide to embodied social change. All of us need to read this book--and then act on it."--Angela Rye, NPR political analyst and former CNN commentator

"This is a book that will wake you up, excite, and terrify you. But Resmaa won't leave you there; all along the way he gives you the practices to do the work of healing into action. And he delivers all of this in riveting prose. Resmaa Menakem is a visionary, and his work is absolutely essential for antiracist practice. We need this book in as many hands as possible."--Robin DiAngelo, PhD, New York Times bestselling author of White Fragility and Nice Racism

"The Quaking of America is more than an insightful book about the challenged state of American multiracial democracy. It is a user's guide, an instruction manual on how to transform your body, yourself, and this country into their highest and noblest aspirations."--Keith Ellison, Attorney General of Minnesota

"Filled with somatic trauma-healing practices intended to build bodily resilience so your actions can live up to your antiracist intentions, this book could save your life, help you save other lives, or even prepare you to prevent a civil war or survive one."--Lissa Rankin, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Mind Over Medicine and Sacred Medicine

"There really are no words that can adequately describe the pouring of incisive foresight and actionable content into a book as Resmaa Menakem has done. We would be remiss not to grasp The Quaking of America as a critical operations manual for the salvaging of this utterly imperfect democracy."--Rev. angel Kyodo williams, coauthor of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation

"Resmaa brings revolutionary insights to the value of connecting with depths of information our bodies hold onto, acquired through life's experiences. He leads us to crucial and deeper connections with our inner truths and provides us with a pathway to building more meaningful relationships and empathy for all people."--Pete Carroll, Head Coach and Executive Vice President of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks

"The Quaking of America is a profoundly needed bridge over today's troubled waters. Resmaa teaches us how to be present and embodied, even in conflict. For all our sakes, please read this book and share it with a friend."--Peter A. Levine, PhD, author of Waking the Tiger, Healing Trauma, and In an Unspoken Voice

"One . . . two . . . three . . . BOOM! Precisely how I've experienced Resmaa's work in my life, our company, and in the world. He is a critical voice in reclaiming our bodies and thus our freedom."--Audrey Cavenecia, Chief Content Officer and award-winning producer at Amplify Voices (a Pete Carroll Company)

"This book provides all that is needed to undertake the needed transmutation of 400 years of conditioning underlying white body supremacy. With My Grandmother's Hands, Resmaa gave us a map to racism across the terrain of our emotions in our body; in The Quaking of America he gives us a compass to find our way home to collective healing. Resmaa's unique and unflinching approach shows us how to begin metabolizing the collective pain of racism in this country while clearly illustrating the consequences of not doing so."--Eve Ekman, PhD, Director of Cultivating Emotional Balance and a Senior Fellow at the University of California Berkeley Greater Good Science Center

"The Quaking of America gives us concrete answers on how to process the individual and collective sociopolitical trauma Americans have been living under, while painting a picture of a near future that will call for Americans to choose between continuing a legacy of political corruption and racialized violence or the emergence of a new American culture rooted in racial equality and healing for all."--Anayansi Prado, award-winning filmmaker and educator

About the Author

Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP, is a leading voice in today's conversation on racialized trauma and the creator of Cultural Somatics, which utilizes the body and its natural resilience as mechanisms for growth. As a therapist and the founder of Justice Leadership Solutions, a leadership consulting firm, Resmaa dedicates his expertise to coaching leaders through civil unrest, organizational change, and community building. He is the author of the national bestseller My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies.