"A provocative, essential guide to showing up for each other and cultivating community, from activist, community organizer and thought leader whose viral TED talk has been viewed more than 1.8 million times"-- After almost every presentation activist and writer Mia Birdsong gives to executives, think tanks, and policy makers, one of those leaders quietly confesses how much they long for the profound community she describes. They have family, friends, and colleagues, yet they still feel like they're standing alone. They're "winning" at the American Dream, but they're lonely, disconnected, and unsatisfied. It seems counterintuitive that living the "good life" - the well-paying job, the nuclear family, the upward mobility - can make us feel isolated and unhappy. But in a divided America, where only a quarter of us know our neighbors and everyone is either a winner or loser, we've forgotten the key element that helped us make progress in the first place: community. In this provocative, groundbreaking work, Mia Birdsong shows that what separates us aren't only the ever-present injustices built around race, class, gender, values, and beliefs, but also the denial o four interdependence and need for belonging. In response to the fear and discomfort we feel, we've built walls, and instead of leaning on one another, we find ourselves leaning on concrete. Through research, interviews, and stories of lived experience, How We Show Up returns us to our inherent connectedness where we find strength, safety, and support in vulnerability and generosity, in asking for help, and in being accountable. Showing up - literally and figuratively - points us toward the promise of our collective vitality and leads us to the liberated well-being we all want. Provided by publisher.

Akaya said -- When failure leads us home : the trap of the American Dream -- Me and us : self-care in the context of community -- Love is abundant and every relationship is unique : the queering of friendship -- I love you 'til ashes or dird : family beyond blood and law -- The best of the people we know : the village we all need -- Make this space for people, make this space for me : navigating hardship -- A gathering and a calling home : the remedies are in our kitchens -- We can't build safety without community : healing repair and accountability.