{"product_id":"who-we-are-becoming-matters-the-courage-wisdom-and-aloha-we-need-in-a-timeplace-of-collapse","title":"Who We Are Becoming Matters: The Courage, Wisdom, and Aloha We Need in a Timeplace of Collapse","description":"\u003cp\u003eby Norma Kaweloku Wong\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNorth Atlantic Books\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2\/10\/2026, paperback\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSKU: \u003cspan id=\"pd-product-id\"\u003e9798889843214\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat makes us human? And why does it matter? Poetic and practical advice on who we are--and what we need to become--to move forward in togetherness and mutual responsibility in an age of uncertainty and climate chaos\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eZen and Indigenous Hawaiian wisdom for navigating the timeplace of collapse--the highly-anticipated follow-up to \u003ci\u003eWhen No Thing Works\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith piercing clarity and poetic force, Zen teacher and Indigenous Hawaiian leader Norma Kawelokū Wong offers a profound call to reckon with what she calls the \u003ci\u003eHuman Quotient\u003c\/i\u003e 4 essential inner capacities--courage, compassion, aloha, and strategic wisdom--we must cultivate and embody to not just survive, but shepherd ourselves through an age of climate crisis, social fracture, and accelerating collapse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart visionary framework, part story-poem-instruction manual, \u003ci\u003eWho We Are Becoming Matters\u003c\/i\u003e invites readers into a deeper examination of how we grow, relate, and lead in times of uncertainty. Drawing on decades of Zen training, Indigenous Hawaiian knowledge, political strategy, and community practice, Wong explores the internal and collective shifts required to evolve with intention. Her teachings challenge us to release the logic of othering and splintering, to root ourselves in the mutual responsibilities of \u003ci\u003ealoha\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ekuleana\u003c\/i\u003e, and to step into the messy work asked of us in a timeplace of collapse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLike the highly lauded \u003ci\u003eWhen No Thing Works\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWho We Are Becoming Matters\u003c\/i\u003e is both balm and blueprint: it's a vital disruption of the status quo. It's a generative map for moving forward. And it's a realistic look at what it may take for humanity to evolve and embody the historic role of stewarding this urgent moment: we take the leap together, eyes wide open, and tend to the job placed before us.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReviews:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A tone poem that touches ancestral wisdom to teach us how to meet the present moment. It's a meditation. Read slowly.\" -- The Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu van Furth, author of \u003ci\u003eForgiveness and Reparation\u003c\/i\u003e and coauthor of \u003ci\u003eMade for Goodness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Such an extraordinary voice of prose and poetry that demands the reader's attention. And what a profound and brilliant use of our attention. I am well-familiar with the teachings but I was riveted by Wong Roshi's style that woke me up. Thank you.\" -Margaret Wheatley, author of several books, including \u003ci\u003eRestoring Sanity\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLeadership and the\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eNew Science\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eWho Do We Choose to Be?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eWho We Are Becoming Matters\u003c\/i\u003e reads like an invitation; a set of gentle nudges to think and act in radically different ways. It is in part an analysis of the current state of the world and in part a series of reflections on how to improve one's daily practices so that life is better aligned with nature, ancestral wisdom and courageous dedication to a peaceful future. Activists, cultural workers, scholars, parents and spiritual leaders alike will find something in these pages that will affect our collective work to improve the human condition.\" -- Dr. Beth E. Richie, author of \u003ci\u003eArrested Justice\u003c\/i\u003e and distinguished professor of criminology, law, and justice and Black studies and inaugural chair in the humanities and social sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAbout the Author:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNorma Wong\u003c\/strong\u003e, a life-long resident of Hawaiʻi, is a descendant of Native Hawaiians and Hakka Chinese immigrants. She has decades of experience in organizing, policy, strategy, and politics in Hawaiʻi, particularly in the area of Native Hawaiian issues, serving in the Hawaii State Legislature and as a policy lead and negotiator for Governor John Waiheʻe, Hawaiʻi's first Native governor. Norma began her spiritual practice at the same time as her political life unfolded. These days, it is the intertwined application of Zen practice and an indigenous worldview that Norma brings to provoke practical inquiry and redirect work. She is a thought partner, a strategist, and a teacher.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Burning Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52352121078043,"sku":"Who We Are Becoming","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0466\/5121\/files\/8182q7nA3LL._SL1500.jpg?v=1781536063","url":"https:\/\/burningbooks.com\/products\/who-we-are-becoming-matters-the-courage-wisdom-and-aloha-we-need-in-a-timeplace-of-collapse","provider":"Burning Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}