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