A moment to reimagine Gen Dread

Here’s what you said you want out of this space

Hi there!

Welcome to Gen Dread, a newsletter about how the climate crisis is making us feel, why that’s happening, and what we can do about it. Subscribe now to find community, comfort, and practical coping and acting strategies from experts all around the world.

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A few weeks ago, we offered this community a chance to imagine the future of Gen Dread with us. We put out a survey asking you what you value about this newsletter and what you might like to see more of as we continue to grow and evolve. So many of you responded (THANK YOU ETERNALLY!) and helped create a huge and vibrant mosaic of ideas that we are considering very carefully as we make plans for Gen Dread’s next steps. 

We wanted to share some common themes that emerged so you have a better sense of who you’re in community with, and what your fellow Dreadheads are thinking about, craving, and envisioning for this space.

Firstly, 100% of you wholeheartedly support the use of the term “Dreadheads”. So that’s great news. All right fine, that was not a question on the survey. Let’s get to the actual survey.

Image credit: Gen Dread

Where are Gen Dread readers from?

Nearly half of you are Americans. About a quarter are Canadians. The other quarter-ish is scattered all over the rest of the world.

How old do Gen Dread readers tend to be?

The majority of you are between 25-44. We’ve got strong representation from the 45+ crowd, and a small minority of readers under 25. That’s interesting, since a lot of people think that we are focusing on Gen Z. Not really the case. We are intentionally intergenerational, and the folks who put this newsletter together are between 25 and 44, which is reflected in the mild majority of our readers being the same.

What kind of work do Gen Dread readers do?

The majority of you work in nonprofits, teaching, and healthcare. About half of you are involved in frontline climate work, either on a paid or volunteer basis.

We asked if you want to see a focus on internal action (coping, resilience, etc.) or external action (organizing, opportunities to take climate action)

The overwhelming majority of you want a 50/50 split.

Then we wanted to know what kinds of potential new features on Gen Dread excite you most.

Most of you are yearning for opportunities to learn practical skills from experts in the climate and mental health field: a climate-aware therapist to answer your questions, webinars, and virtual workshops on helpful topics that will fortify your spirit and better equip you to take action out there.

And finally, as a little thank-you for responding to our survey, we offered you a chance to win a copy of Britt’s book, “Generation Dread”. SO. DRUMROLL PLEASE…………

The five winners have been drawn and we are contacting them - so, keep an eye on your inbox. If you’re not one of the lucky winners, don’t worry, the paperback edition of Generation Dread is available for pre-order!

So: what’s next?

We take our commitment to this cherished and brilliant community very seriously. And so, we’re going to slow down our weekly newsletter publishing schedule just a titch over the coming months to give us time to weave all your fantastic ideas into the next evolution of Gen Dread. You can still expect a newsletter every couple of weeks! And we’re hoping to unveil our plans soon. But first, we need to take some intentional space to think carefully, build thoughtfully, and make sure we honour what you’re telling us you need.

Last thing: will you help us?

We’re endlessly grateful for all the support you’ve given us with your words, your time, and your hearts. For the first time, we will soon accept your pledges to support us in dollars. We want to be clear: Gen Dread will always be free. The only thing that’s changed is that you have the option to donate to Gen Dread if it’s accessible to you and feels aligned with your values. You can pledge to support us here. Some readers have already left pledges, but we haven’t yet activated them. We plan to soon, and are so thankful for your support.

Image credit: Gen Dread

We are three people who put this newsletter together, and two of them are paid positions, so your support directly helps make their involvement with Gen Dread sustainable long term. Given that we don’t charge subscriptions, we rely on donations, and have so far been functioning off of a single foundation’s donation (we are deeply grateful for the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring’s support of this work!). But once it runs out, this team’s paydays do too. Any reader pledges we receive will help us tremendously to build and expand on the work we do here, create new features to offer this community, and keep our message crescendoing into the next few crucial years for climate.

Thanks from all of us – sincerely – for considering it. 🙏🏼

If you liked reading this, feel free to click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack 🙏🏼

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Making Waves

Image credit: Collective Trauma Summit

The 2023 Collective Trauma Summit’s theme is Creating a Global Healing Movement. The Summit features expert speakers such as neuroscientists, trauma psychologists, Indigenous elders, founders and executives, journalists, poets, artists, activists, NYT Bestselling authors, and including our own Britt Wray

You’re invited to a FREE Preview Event, a live 90-minute panel discussion with Thomas Hübl and Summit Hosts, on Thursday, August 24, 2023 at 9 AM LA/12 PM NY/6 PM Berlin. If you can’t make it live, please register anyway and we’ll send you a recording after.

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As always, you can share your thoughts and reach the Gen Dread community by commenting on this article or replying to this email. You can also follow along on Twitter and Instagram.

‘Till next time!

- The Gen Dread Team

Britt Wray (Creator + Editor-in-Chief)

Sophie Kohn (Researcher + Writer)

Anis Annisa Maryam (Designer)