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Burnout gives a great overview on how defeat in political struggles can lead to despair. There are no easy answers here on how to avoid it, but maybe on how to come to terms with the fact that despair is likely to be part of a political struggle.

Across the chapters, Hannah Proctor looks at Melancholia, nostalgia, depression, the titular burnout, exhaustion, bitterness, trauma and mourning — across historical defeats in the fight for a more just and equal society, across a wide range of academic resources.

Definitely not an easy read, but a necessary one I’d say. I really enjoyed her concept of “non-adaptive healing”, on recovering without accepting the status quo that (partially) causes any of those challenges outlined across the chapters.