Little Apocalypses: Essays on Motherhood, Climate Change, and Hope at the End of the World

"Raw, undeniable, and tender." --Kate Baer, New York Times bestselling author of What Kind of Woman

"As quietly earth-shattering as it is tenderly hopeful." --Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich and Wreck

A thoughtful, evocative, and urgently needed collection that reimagines the stories we tell about motherhood, climate change, and the end of the world as we know it.

How do you raise children in a world rapidly being reshaped by climate change? Do our narratives about climate change and care help us or hinder us in our efforts to get it right? Little Apocalypses seeks to explore these urgent questions as we navigate the existential predicament of parenting on a planet in crisis.

In this collection of beautifully crafted essays, Kaitlyn Teer--herself the mother of two young children--blends personal narrative, cultural analysis, and wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary research to offer new ways for readers to think more deeply and more hopefully about the radical possibilities of caregiving to bring a more just and sustainable future into being. In "World Without End" Teer examines the apocalyptic rhetoric that shapes our understanding of the climate crisis and shows us where to find new stories that can shape our imaginations of what's still possible. In "Mother of All Messes" Teer considers the pressures to perform green motherhood and calls for refocusing efforts to collective action on for mutual flourishing. Teer's writing overflows with love for her children, her community, and the natural world, and offers an invitation to face the uncertain future with curiosity and imagination.

A thoughtful and eye-opening look at the power of caregiving in crisis, Little Apocalypses is a call to action--an invitation to parents to become active participants in carving a different path forward for all of us, our children, and our planet.

"A tender and trenchant essay collection about motherhood and fears of the future." --Kirkus

Kaitlyn Teer is a senior editor at Cup of Jo. Her essays have appeared in Orion, Catapult, Electric Lit, Prairie Schooner, and elsewhere, and she has taught writing at Western Washington University. She lives in Bellingham, Washington, with her husband and two children.