Hello, Cruel World!: Science-Based Strategies for Raising Terrific Kids in Terrifying Times

From the author of How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes comes a science-based, hopeful guide all parents need so they can feel confident that they’re raising children who will not just survive, but thrive in this challenging, terrifying world—and who might just help redeem it.

Parents today are terrified on behalf of their kids, and for good reason. In the blink of an eye, our kids will be adults facing more serious threats than we ever did—climate change, gun violence, political polarization, and disinformation, to name a few. We’re not going to be able to solve all the intractable problems of the world before our kids grow up—so how are we to prepare them for an impossibly complex and scary future?

Award-winning science journalist Melinda Wenner Moyer battled insomnia night after night, her thoughts spiraling around this exact question. So she decided to do what she does best—learn from parenting experts and find the solution. Just as she did in her breakout book, How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes, Moyer again interviewed researchers across multiple fields—psychology, education, information literacy, technology, business, and even addiction. What she discovered: even in a world full of assholes, we can still teach our kids how to take care of themselves, fight for what they believe in, manage uncertain times, and even bridge divides most adults aren’t equipped to do.

In Hello, Cruel World!, Moyer provides practical, comprehensive, science-backed tools to help our children handle the world they will inherit. By using the three core attributes children need to succeed in our flawed world—coping mechanisms, connection techniques, and cultivation practices—our kids can learn to set boundaries, take responsibility for their actions, build healthy relationships in turbulent times, and much more. By being activists in our parenting, we can set our kids up to not just survive, but also make a better world for themselves and future generations.