How to Love a Beautiful, Broken World

A message of hope from a beloved writer: the world is still beautiful, even in its brokenness.

New York Times bestselling author Margaret Renkl shared these words in a 2023 speech to university graduates. Preparing her remarks, she wondered what counsel she could possibly offer young people entering a world that looks incalculably different from the one she entered after college. She wondered, too, why this audience should trust her, when her generation is the one that wrecked so much of what should be precious.

Instead of offering advice for success, Renkl decided to pass along the most important truth she has learned from simply living in the world: how to survive despair, one glimmer of light at a time.

In this short book, she expands on her speech, drawing on her work as a teacher, journalist, author, and backyard naturalist to provide both inspiration and grounded guidance to anyone searching for hope in a troubled world. Yes, we are at a moment of great peril—to the earth, to democracy, to respect for human dignity. But, Renkl argues, realism and hope are not opposing views. All change begins with finding something to fight for and reasons to keep fighting. The living world, she reminds us, is still beautiful and redeemable—no matter how broken it might seem.

Praise for Margaret Renkl:

“Margaret Renkl is a singular, spectacular writer.”—Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Whistler

“Margaret Renkl is the most beautiful writer!”—Reese Witherspoon

“One of Renkl’s skills as a writer is to transfer her ability to perceive the nuances of the natural world, things most of us overlook, onto the page.”—The New York Times

“Whether describing bluebird nests or her own empty one, Renkl is part poetic prophet, part your down-home friend. […]”—People

“I am certain Margaret Renkl’s enchanting voice will echo for lifetimes to come.”—Aimee Nezhukumatathil, New York Times bestselling author of World of Wonders

“Renkl’s voice sounds very close to the reader’s ear: intimate, confiding, candid and alert.”—Shelf Awareness

Praise for The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl (Reese’s Book Club Pick):

“Above all, The Comfort of Crows is a full-throated ode to the hopefulness of regeneration… It is a paean not just to the natural world, but to paying attention and doing one’s bit to nurture it…”—Wall Street Journal