The Idealist’s Survival Kit

Apparently, this is a book for idealists on the brink of burnout. I don’t buy it. Rather, this book is for everyone, from high-powered businesspeople to innovators to humanitarians, who desperately need the tools to care for themselves as they seek solutions to the world’s challenges. With bracing honesty and piercing clarity, Alessandra Pigni shows us not only why, but also how, to practice self-empathy for the sake of efficacy. And the chapters are short: perfect for the frantic, fevered do-gooder. Do yourself some good and slow down just enough to savor Alessandra’s hard-won wisdom.

Irshad Manji, founder, Moral Courage Project, The Trouble with Islam Today

The Idealist’s Survival Kit is essential reading for anyone in or interested in the humanitarian sector. Alessandra Pigni deftly cuts through the humanitarian tradition of suffering in silence, as well as the more recent fad of spilling all onto social media. Humanitarian aid is intensely grueling work; The Idealist’s Survival Kit brings sound, well-researched advice for those to whom dealing day in and out with the dangers here, whether those be contextual, organizational, or institutional, is more than something to fill a gap year.

J., aid worker, Letters Left Unsent

It’s hard to put ourselves first in international aid and philanthropy and other helping professions. Yet if our goal is lasting social transformation, we need organizations and movements driven by strong, imaginative, and effective individuals who can stay in this work for the long-haul. The Idealist’s Survival Kit provides the revelation that makes self-care not just a luxury, but an indispensable spiritual practice. Alessandra Pigni writes as your best friend, your therapist, and your own inner voice, offering guidance and encouragement to remember at once how small, and how powerful, we truly are.

Jennifer Lentfer, creator of HowMatters.org