The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times

Hope is the central concept in Doug’s dialogue with Jane concerning The Nature and Power of Hope. One of Jane’s central beliefs is her “hope in the goodness of this strange, conflicted human animal that evolved from an apelike creature some six million years ago” (xii). When Doug asks Jane to define hope, she says it is “what enables us to keep going in the face of adversity. It is what we desire to happen, but we must be prepared to work hard to make it so” (8). Hope has two related components: a desire for the future, which then spurs on a set of actions undertaken to obtain that desire. In Doug’s research into the field of hope studies, he finds that “only hope sparks us to take action directed toward the hoped-for goal” (26). His research supports Jane’s anecdotal definition of hope.

Jane identifies as a naturalist, which she juxtaposes with scientist. Doug misunderstands “a naturalist” as “simply a scientist who went out into the field” (11). Unlike scientists who look to quantify, naturalists look for “the wonder of nature—she listens to the voice of nature and learns from nature as she tries to understand it” (11). Jane says naturalists must have “empathy and intuition—and love” (11). Jane’s early career in the Gombe exemplifies these characteristics. With no scientific training and as a woman in a male-dominated field, Jane went to observe chimps under her mentor Louis Leakey, who thought women would “be more patient and show more empathy toward the animals they were studying” (17). Jane demonstrated empathy by naming all the chimps she met, unlike scientists who would number them. Jane’s identity as a naturalist and her penchant for wonder and empathy are important factors in her “mission” as a global ambassador for hope.

Optimism is one of the words Jane distinguishes from hope in Part 1. When Doug conflates them, she says, “hope and optimism are not the same thing” (27). While hope is “a stubborn determination to do all you can to make it work,” optimism is “a disposition or a philosophy on life” that convinces one that things will turn out okay (27). Though she differentiates them, Jane says they are not mutually exclusive; in fact, she thinks “someone with an optimistic nature is far more likely to be hopeful” (27). If someone is already seeing the glass as “half full,” Jane thinks that person is more likely to work for solutions toward a positive climate future.

Jane has read information about a “genetic inheritance” component to being an optimist but thinks “this can surely be overruled by environmental factors” (27). This is why the theme of The Significance of Youth Activism and Education is so important to Jane: She wants to provide resources and pathways to nurturing peoples’ optimism and hope, even if they have experienced traumatic circumstances.

Rewilding is a form of “healing work” that repairs biodiversity and natural processes. Jane identifies two aspects to this initiative. First, it’s about “healing the harm inflicted by industry” and other human processes that have destroyed environments and animals (88). Jane tells a story about a mining CEO who decided to grow native seeds and trees on the land his mine was on, which launched a successful 10-year effort to rewild the space. The second aspect Jane identifies is “that even if we have totally destroyed a place, if we give it time and maybe some help, nature will return” (88). This process can take a substantial portion of a human lifetime. Jane admits that “it’s hard [for humans] to feel hopeful” (81) about something if they cannot live to see the results themselves, but she hopes to encourage people to think about the good of the planet many generations ahead when they consider the benefits of rewilding.