What does it mean to belong in an age of social, economic, and ecological disconnection?
On Belonging, the inspiring non-fiction debut from globally renowned activist and academic Kim Samuel, highlights what is perhaps the greatest paradox of our century: despite technological advancements making our world more connected than ever before, feelings of isolation and disconnection have never felt more rampant.
Featuring inspirational interviews with prominent figures from the worlds of sport, music, medicine, business, culture, and advocacy, On Belonging humanises what is for many an alienating topic. Together, the many voices which make up Kim’s extraordinary book – their rousing tales of hardship and triumph – blend together to form a unified call-to-action: one which should motivate readers to embrace their fellow neighbours and strive for positive change, at both a grassroots and governmental level.
At a time when our disability and aged care systems are overstretched, our physical environment is rapidly degrading, and our legal systems bring about further injustices, Kim poses the simple but powerful question: how do we build belonging?
Kim says: “[The Right to Belong] is a constellation of both existing and yet-to-be-recognized rights—from the rights of people with disabilities and older persons to avoid discrimination, to the rights of refugees to a nationality…It’s a framework for thinking about the rights of people to love whom they choose or to maintain a living cultural heritage as a minority community. It’s a framework to be applied as we work to build dignity across the social, economic, and political domains. And it’s a framework for enshrining the deep value of our human connection to people, to place, to power, and to purpose.”
Praise for Kim Samuel:
“On Belonging comes at the perfect time, when so many feel adrift and alone. Kim Samuel travelled the world to study the human need to belong and why so many don’t. Drawing on a stunning array of conversations, Samuel has written an important book that shows a path to a more connected future.” Mary Jordan, Pulitzer Prize winner and Washington Post correspondent
“Find inspiration and even hope right here!” Annie Lennox, singer-songwriter and global feminist activist
“On Belonging shows how we can all overcome the disconnection and reawaken the beauty. Read this book, y’awl!” Quincy Jones
“On Belonging is a roadmap for escaping the isolation that has become so prevalent today… This is an important book, both for describing a problem that is fundamental yet often neglected, and for proposing meaningful and effective solutions.” Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch
“This compassionate journalistic treatise on building more inclusive communities hits the mark.” Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Kim Samuel is an activist and educator, who is a forerunner of the global movement for belonging. She is the Fulbright Canada Ambassador for diversity and social connectedness and Visiting Scholar at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. She is also the founder of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness, a “think-and-do tank” that partners with leading advocacy groups and research organizations to combat social isolation and realize the Right to Belong on a global basis. She is the author of the new book On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation (Abrams Press). Publishers Weekly called On Belonging a “compassionate journalistic treatise on building more inclusive communities” that “hits the mark.” Annie Lennox called the book a source of “inspiration and even hope.”
For more information, a review copy or to interview Kim, please contact:
Hannah Bright, Midas | hannah.bright@midaspr.co.uk | +447943 782 574
Emily Laidlaw, Midas | emily.laidlaw@midaspr.co.uk | +447384 268 734
To learn more about Kim please visit: https://kimsamuel.com/
