A Renaissance of Our Own: A Memoir & Manifesto on Reimagining; Rachel E. Cargle

n Beyond Love and Light, Rachel Cargle details the seminal event that put her on the map--her viral 2017 Women's March appearance that thrust her into the national conversation on feminism and allyship--and how she soon woke up to the fallacies of a movement she had believed in. Discovering and unpacking the white-washed lies she'd been fed about intersectional "solidarity," Cargle's awakening, although painful and seismic, gifted her the opportunity to see the world through a new lens.

Now, Cargle shares her journey, depicting a framework for allyship, and beyond, that she developed along the way. In creating KEA (Knowledge, Empathy, Action), or as she calls them "from the head to the heart to the feet," Cargle learned to craft a world independent of oppressive constructs that allowed her to critically examine her surroundings. Alongside KEA, she established a set of intentional values based on an individual sense of purpose, known as higher values, and through the combination of these tools, reimagined her approach to the personal, societal, and structural components of life that are often stifled. She provides the same tools and prompts that she used to unearth and align her own values so anyone can wield them, and ultimately, identify the structures and mindsets that hold them back and learn to move forward.

Beyond Love and Light serves as a reminder of the power of reimagining as an engine for critical learning, radical empathizing, and intentional action.

May 16, 2023