WHY AREN'T WE DOING MORE TO SAVE OURSELVES?
There’s no end to heartbreaking news about our planet, and I felt helpless to do anything about it. Then I started writing.

There’s no end to heartbreaking news about our planet, and I felt helpless to do anything about it. Then I started writing.

The bad news for Life on Earth is relentless. Epic hurricanes, firestorms, and floods. Tens of thousands species going extinct every year. Public lands sold off for quick profit. Environmental protections gutted overnight. The powers that be seem hellbent on pouring gasoline on the fire — and then selling the mineral rights.
Some days it feels like too much and I want to give up. But then I meet up with a friend or get an idea for a gathering and I feel restored. My wellspring of hope replenished. Hell, my will to live. My book, Madness on the Brink of Eco-Apocalypse, catalogs that journey.
Somewhere in the depths of my despair, between the doom-scrolling and the dark Fair Trade chocolate, one nagging question kept bubbling up:
What if the most radical thing we can do right now is throw a party?
After years of desperately seeking answers, as an environmental attorney, geologist, and professional eco-worrier, here's what I know: connection isn't built in comment sections. It's built around tables, in living rooms, in front yards, in real life. And we need each other now more than ever.
My new book, Party on Purpose (launching 6/6/26) is your permission slip to have fun, even now, especially now. A guide to gatherings that are joyful, intentional, and easy on the planet. Let's party like the fate of humanity depends on it. Because it just might.

"We're not “saving the planet.” Earth is fine. The question is whether HUMANITY will survive. We are literally trying to save ourselves from the eco-apocalypse. Why aren't we doing more to Save OurSelves?
Let's learn from the communities who are already doing what they can to preserve Earth's Life Support Systems right where they are. Because we sure can’t wait for our government, the megacorps or the oligarchs to do it for us.
WE ARE HERE TO SAVE OURSELVES.
Subscribe for musings and snark for the eco-enraged, the doomscroll-exhausted, and the stubbornly hopeful. Real talk about eco-anxiety, joy as resistance, and party planning for the eco-apocalypse — delivered once a week or so.
Subscribing is free! Or become a paid subscriber to support my shade-grown coffee habit and get sneak peeks at Party on Purpose—plus my eternal gratitude.
We need each other now more than ever. Let's figure this out together.

A powerful call to action and a compelling read, Madness on the Brink of Eco-Apocalypse casts a penetrating light on the gravest environmental threats to our survival through the perspective of a deeply informed and passionate eco-worrier.
Cheryl Leutjen draws from her experience as a geologist, environmental attorney, spiritual practitioner, and worried mother to confront the growing threats to Earth's vital life support systems. Weaving verifiable facts, compassion, outrage, and dark humor, she writes, speaks and hosts events to motivate all of us to take meaningful action for a more sustainable future.
Let’s connect and aid each other in discovering what each of us can do that will make a meaningful contribution at this time of great eco-upheaval.
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