Description
A road map for rewiring our brains to unlearn harmful beliefs, heal broken bonds, and transform our communities
The beliefs that hold us back—inherited prejudices, self-limiting thoughts, destructive patterns—often feel permanent. But what if they're not? In Radical Unlearning, you’ll learn about how neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to form new neural pathways—plays a key role in how we learn (and unlearn) behaviors and biases. Journalist and activist Lewis Raven Wallace likens the process to how footpaths are created by countless people walking the same route over years. We can choose to disrupt existing neural connections, to create new paths that lead to meaningful change.
Weaving personal stories with scientific research, Wallace shows how anyone can break free from harmful patterns and beliefs, no matter how deeply ingrained. This book invites you to begin your own unlearning journey with practical exercises and reflection questions. It includes insights from people who have fundamentally changed their worldviews such as:
- A former white nationalist who is now a transgender anti-racist activist
- An ex-Israeli soldier who has transformed into a radical anti-Zionist advocate
- Wallace’s own grandmother, who overcame decades of racism and transphobia in her 80s
Our mental patterns don't just affect us—they shape how we treat others and form the foundation of larger social problems. Radical Unlearning is a road map for collective healing and growth, proof that transformation flourishes in community. With this book, you'll learn how to let go of harmful beliefs and practice new ways of thinking that foster connection, empathy, and justice.
Table of Contents
Introduction
CHAPTER 1
Desire Lines: The Science of Unlearning
CHAPTER 2
Love
Questions for People You Love
CHAPTER 3
Cognitive Dissonance
CHAPTER 4
Community
Writing out of Normalcy: An Unlearning Opener
CHAPTER 5
Confrontation
INTERLUDE: On Stories and Unlearning
Retelling Our Own Stories: A Few Questions for Reflection
CHAPTER 6
Questions
Unlearning Interviews: A Template
CHAPTER 7
Somatics
INTERLUDE: “Coming out of the Fog” and Embodiment Through Drag
CHAPTER 8
Practice
CHAPTER 9
Poetry and Surrealism
What Is It Like to Be a Boat? A Reverse Presentation
CHAPTER 10
Immersion
CHAPTER 11
Accessibility
INTERLUDE: Children’s Minds, Adults’ Limits, and Unlearning as a Disruptive Pivot
Questions for Ongoing Reflection
CONCLUSION
Desire, Yearning, and the Unknown
Acknowledgments
Notes
