Giving Up Is Unforgivable
A Manual for Keeping a Democracy
-
-
4.5 • 4 Ratings
-
-
- $15.99
Publisher Description
Instant New York Times bestseller
A political manifesto for our present moment—part history lesson, part call to save the Republic
"Brilliant, galvanizing, and inspirational. A road map to help us find our way out of the darkness." —Mary L. Trump
We’re in this together.
For the past several years, Joyce Vance has signed off posts on her chart-topping Substack, "Civil Discourse", with these four words. In that time, she has guided readers through a continued erosion of democratic norms, the unprecedented felony conviction of an ex-president, and the constitutionally calamitous beginning to the second Trump administration. Here, Vance offers a blueprint for avoiding burnout and despair, and for strengthening our democratic muscle.
Giving Up Is Unforgivable is a clarion call to action, putting our current crisis in historical context and sketching out a vision for where we go next. Vance’s message is hopeful at its heart, even as it acknowledges the daunting challenges that lie ahead. She is the constitutional law professor you never knew you needed, explaining the legal context and the political history— and why the rule of the law still matters. At the same time, she empowers the reader to do something, both as individuals and collectively.
Consider this the birth of a countermovement to Project 2025, a rallying cry for citizen engagement to combat the second Trump administration and save American democracy.
Customer Reviews
Right on Point!
Joyce Vance is the author of the popular "Substack" newsletter "Civil Discourse". This is her first book, and her timing could not have been better. "Giving Up is Unforgivable" follows a logical path to what is going on in the USA today with historical and legal underpinnings so even the most disengaged or uninformed can follow along easily.
Vance writes in the first person so we get to know why she wrote the book, who she is and of course, her own thoughts are interspersed. She explains the law, our history, and the Constitution with extensive notes at the back of the book. It is an easy to understand book. For example her distillation of Judicial Review was comprehensive but not bogged down by minutiae.
The author states that she is an optimist, but does not suggest keeping our Democracy is easy and does not sugar coat the solutions. She clearly believes, as others do too, that Democracy is aspirational, and she gives concrete examples of why we need it. The book is always on point, written with clarity, and does not meander, coming in at 144 pages without the notes included.
For those of us engaged or those who want to be engaged, the book gives us a simple roadmap that takes little