Taking a Break from Saving the World: A Conservation Activist’s Journey from Burnout to Balance

by Stephen Legault

A veteran of burnout himself, Legault looks at the culture of self-sacrifice that permeates the work done by volunteers and paid staff in the environmental conservation movement, and dissects how to manage our own time, energy, and commitment to our causes. Following a river-running metaphor, and proposing a variety of techniques to help with various states of anxiety resulting from burnout, including clarity of purpose, recognition of limits, fitness and diet, mediation and yoga, as well as organizational structural changes such as leave-of-absence policies, Legault encourages readers to find time to “eddy out”―to rest a moment in quieter waters and scout downriver―to ensure our lifetime of engagement is fulfilling, effective, and self-sustaining. Just as with teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, paramedics, steelworkers, students, and airline pilots, burnout is a growing concern in many social-change circles. Taking a Break from Saving the World takes a look at the impacts of eco-anxiety, over-work, and the associated stress surrounding the present and future state of the environment and offers practical and insightful suggestions on how to deal with it.

168 pages, Paperback

Published April 3, 2020

About the author

Stephen Legault is the author of fourteen books, including most recently Where Rivers Meet: Photographs and Stories from the Bow Valley and Kananaskis and Earth and Sky: Photographs and Stories from Montana and Alberta.

He is a full-time conservation activist, writer, photographer, public speaker, and strategy consultant who lives in Canmore, Alberta with his wife Jenn, and two sons, Rio and Silas. He has been writing since 1988, and for nearly as long has been leading national and international conservation programs and organizations.

Stephen recently served as the program director (Crown, Alberta, NWT) of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y). His writing includes nine murder mystery novels, books of essays on Buddhism and Taoism and a collection of works by 25 authors on the Bow Valley of Alberta.

Follow Stephen on Facebook, or visit www.stephenlegault.com.

Reviews

[Anaïs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting a book about climate anxiety so it was a bit of a surprise but not in a bad way. The book is centered on burnout in the not for profit sector at large and contains a lot of good thoughts, advice and suggestions for the future of the not for profit sector. I had difficulty following the metaphors and found lots of repetitions which made it a difficult read at times.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the author focuses on his work as an environmental activist, and liberally uses paddling metaphors, the fundamentals are applicable to other fields as well. Lots of useful info and great tips.

[Kevin Mcbeath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for me. More geared towards those deep in the industry. Thankful for the candid insights.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good metaphors and points, but the material was repetitive