Publication Date: November 10, 2026
Caitlin Moran takes us on a personal journey from despair to hopefulness by refusing to succumb to the paralyzing news cycle and by taking action in small ways that make a difference; award-winning columnist and bestselling author of How to Be a Woman and What About Men? helps us find hope in seemingly hopeless times with this laugh-out-loud and heart-filling story of finding a way forward in dark times.
Waking up from another anxious night of sleep, doomscrolling on your phone, feeling the familiar thud of dread in your chest as you watch the news: Sound familiar? One morning, Caitlin Moran awakes and realizes that she has reached Peak Despair. In a world of worsening news, increasing tribalism and digital addiction, is it any wonder that we all feel so terrible? So, Caitlin wonders: what might be done?
She starts with a Big Plan to escape to the country. But, after nearly bankrupting her family in an ill-advised bid to escape societal doom, Caitlin realizes that true change starts not by escaping our circumstances, but by reckoning with ourselves. If we step back from the algorithm and take care of ourselves and each other, might amazing change be possible?
And so, ditching the news, eschewing social media, and throwing herself into the analogue world just beyond our screens, Caitlin shows how recognizing the goodness in the everyday can be a radical act of rebellion against the fear and anxiety of modern life. From the magic of becoming a renegade litter-picker to the joy of finding exercise that your body loves, How to Be Hopeful is an essential, serotonin-boosting companion for anyone looking to reclaim their optimism amidst global chaos, reminding us that our own revolution of hope is never far away.
Anxiety has a way of creeping into our lives, especially if we are surrounded by negativity.
Author Caitlin Moran delivers a witty self-help book in How to Be Hopeful. Bombarded with thoughts that keep her awake at night and headlines that make her shudder, she explores the possibility of leaving everything behind to live in isolation on a self-sustaining farm.
When that plan falls apart, she explores other avenues. Rather than an escape plan, her thoughts turn inward for an introspective dive into an attitude that resists outside pressure.
The author illustrates how purposely recognizing good things in life creates a sense of rejuvenation. With witty examples dropped along the way, the author becomes a ray of sunshine for other women caught in a perimenopausal fog of uncertainty.
How to Be Hopeful feels like a chat with your bestie, offering laughter and tears along with plenty of seemingly random facts.
Caitlin Moran had literally no friends in 1990, and so had plenty of time to write her first novel, The Chronicles of Narmo, at the age of fifteen. At sixteen she joined music weekly, Melody Maker, and at eighteen hosted the pop show Naked City. Following this precocious start she then put in eighteen solid years as a columnist on the Times—both as a television critic and also in the most-read part of the paper, the satirical celebrity column “Celebrity Watch”—winning the British Press Awards’ Columnist of The Year award in 2010 and Critic and Interviewer of the Year in 2011. The eldest of eight children, Caitlin read lots of books about feminism—mainly in an attempt to be able to prove to her brother, Eddie, that she was scientifically better than him. Caitlin isn’t really her name. She was christened ‘Catherine.’ But she saw ‘Caitlin’ in a Jilly Cooper novel when she was thirteen and thought it looked exciting. That’s why she pronounces it incorrectly: ‘Catlin.’ It causes trouble for everyone.
