EP #74: The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times with Douglas Abrams

Lisa is solo today.  Her guest is Douglas Abrams who talks
about the book he did with Jane Goodall, The Book of Hope: A
Survival Guide for Trying Times.

Doug Abrams is a multiple New York Times-bestselling author as
well as an editor, literary agent, and film producer who is
committed to helping catalyze the next evolutionary stage of our
global culture. He co-wrote "The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness
in a Changing World" with the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu and
"The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times" with Jane
Goodall. He has coauthored many bestselling non-fiction books and
has has written two novels, "The Lost Diary of Don Juan" and "Eye
of the Whale", which together have been translated into over
thirty languages.  


Doug is the Founder and President of Idea Architects, a creative
book and media company helping visionaries to create a wiser,
healthier, and more just world.  As a literary agent and
editor, he has also worked with Bryan Stevenson on his #1 New
York Times bestseller "Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and
Redemption" and Stephen Hawking on his last book, the
globalbestseller "Brief Answers to the Big Questions."  He
has had the privilege of working with many great thought leaders,
visionary scientists, and humanitarians including Nobel Laureates
Nelson Mandela, Jody Williams, and Elizabeth Blackburn. 
Doug has also worked with Desmond Tutu as his coauthor, editor,
and literary agent for almost two decades.  


Dialogue is key to Doug’s work, and he believes that genius is a
collaborative process. His goal is to bring people together in a
cultural conversation through books and media that transform
lives and ultimately the world.  Books and films he has
developed have been credited with convincing then-President Bill
Clinton to stop the genocide in Kosovo (THE BRIDGE BETRAYED), for
launching the modern anti-slavery movement (DISPOSSIBLE PEOPLE),
and for helping to expand a mass incarceration reform movement
(JUST MERCY, a book and film starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie
Foxx). Throughout all of his wide-ranging projects, Doug aspires
to help build a prism through which life-changing conversations
and experiences can be created and nourished.  He has had
the privilege of interviewing global heroes and icons including
Jimmy Carter, Bono, Carlos Santana, Richard Branson, and many
others.   He was also on the founding team of JustGive.org,
a philanthropy website that has pioneered new forms of giving and
been responsible for giving over half a billion dollars to
charity. He lives with his wife, Rachel, an integrative family
physician, author, and lifelong conversation partner. He has
three grown children, Jesse, Kayla, and Eliana.




Book description: 

**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLER**

In a world that seems so troubled, how do we hold on to
hope?

Looking at the headlines—the worsening climate crisis, a global
pandemic, loss of biodiversity, political upheaval—it can be hard
to feel optimistic. And yet hope has never been more desperately
needed.

In this urgent book, Jane Goodall, the world's most famous living
naturalist, and Douglas Abrams, the internationally bestselling
co-author of The Book of Joy, explore through intimate and
thought-provoking dialogue one of the most sought after and least
understood elements of human nature: hope. In The Book of Hope,
Jane focuses on her "Four Reasons for Hope": The Amazing Human
Intellect, The Resilience of Nature, The Power of Young People,
and The Indomitable Human Spirit.

Drawing on decades of work that has helped expand our
understanding of what it means to be human and what we all need
to do to help build a better world, The Book of Hope touches on
vital questions, including: How do we stay hopeful when
everything seems hopeless? How do we cultivate hope in our ch