So far this year, I have read 19 books. Fantasy novels, to be precise. Each time I walk into my local library to return one book and pick up another from the hold shelves, I like to think that the librarians watch me in awe, wondering what sort of reading quest I am on. (I know that’s not really happening, I mean… it’s likely not happening…)
I stumbled into the cozy fantasy genre at the end of 2024 when the horrors were confirmed, and after having my fill of steamy Romantasies. Not to throw shade on the romance genre, for which I have a lot of respect; it’s wonderful to be able to turn to a book with a guaranteed HOA (Happily Ever After). But given the state of the world and the country, I needed something that would both take me away from the insanity of every day life while also giving me hope for how to survive it. So I turned to fantasy.
Little did I know that I was actually mapping out a curriculum for myself in How to Survive the Apocalypse. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:
Things get worse before they get better.
It’s a simple trope of storytelling: first, there’s a plot, then the plot “thickens” - things get messy, constricting , uncomfortable. This is the part of the book where the antagonist would say “you’ve lost,” and the protagonist would briefly believe they had, before a return to their convictions.
Root for the underdog.
The underdog is the one who faces the harsh realities and, against all odds, throws themselves into their quest. Wether its to protect one’s family, to survive a war, or to run a coffeeshop, the protagonist usually starts out at a deficit in some way, but has enough courage and commitment to their cause to see past the odds. The kids call this being “delulu,” (as in “delusional”) and quite frankly, without it, most of these characters wouldn’t get past their own door.
You can’t go it alone.
The most charming of these cozy fantasy genres include unforgettable sidekicks and ensemble casts of chosen family without whom our protagonist could not Save The Day (or Do The Thing, whatever that may be). There are no lone wolves, lone rangers, lone whatever, when it comes to vanquishing a foe. Sure, there are those with special gifts who are more suited to going head to head with the evil enemy than others, but those others provide real and necessary resources to the protagonist - as well as their own ways of undermining the antagonists.
Perhaps the above are lessons unique to this genre, cozy fantasy (and cozy horror, which is a thing?) which I’ve been consuming at an alarming rate since the election, but I tend to think they’re universal. If we look at Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey, we see there must first be a leaving, then a descent, then an “all is lost,” reckoning, followed by a turn towards the light an ascent, emerging changed and victorious.
We are in the part of the story where things get worse; the antagonist has risen to power, and is wreaking havoc left and right. This is the point of the story where the Greek Chorus would sing woe and calamity. This is the part of the story where the protagonist begins to give up hope, and perhaps even runs away from their quest. But even in many of our oldest texts (I draw from the Hebrew Bible, mostly) the protagonist, the hero, doesn’t get let off the hook that easily. Like Jonah, who tries to run away from his task but then gets swallowed by a whale and then dumped back on shore to face it, we can’t run away from what we are called to do right now. I mean, we can, sure, but it will lead to more calamity and ruin. (Says the person who spends most of their time hiding under the covers with a fantasy novel…)
Here are three things that you can do *today* if you’re feeling hopeless, and like it’s time to run away from your quest:
Remind yourself that every generation has thought it was living in end times. But the earth is still here, and so are you.
You are the underdog in this story. Root for yourself by listing out 3 things that you will never stop fighting for, put them on a Post-It on your fridge so that you see them every day, multiple times a day.
Schedule coffee or lunch with a friend *this* week, and one a week for the next month. The antagonists want us to feel alone, we’re less of a threat that way. Don’t let their chaos win.
There’s more to say, there always is, but it’s time for me to go pick up my kid (one of the 3 things on my list - and now - a post-it on my fridge) and tap into the possibility that the future isn’t all doom and gloom. I’ll get my feet in the mud, and look at the buds on my lilac bush, and pet my dog, and drink some water, and have a snack, and then feel 1% better, and more prepared to keep on keeping on.
Goodness is all around. Be steadfast in your pursuit of it. Stay focused on what is in front of you, what you can control, and how you want to feel. Be delulu enough to believe that good will triumph, and operate under the assumption that it will.
Otherwise: what’s the point?