You're invited: The Courageous Conversations/Collapse Life bimonthly book chat

Our new initiative is not just about reading; it's also about sharing with and learning from others in as meaningful a way as possible in this fractured world.

We’re starting something new here at Collapse Life, in collaboration with our friend

Susan Harley

of

Courageous Conversations

.

We’re calling it a ‘book chat,’ by which we mean a series of conversations where books are the sparks for deeper dialogue. Forget about assigned reading, monthly deadlines, and that guilty feeling you get when you haven’t finished reading all the chapters. Instead, picture a community-first, open-door space where every two months we’ll take a book, essay, or idea and use it to create a place where we can all share insights, questions, and lived experience.

Our first spark is The Preparation by Matt Smith, Maxim Smith, and Doug Casey.

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Why The Preparation?

Because being prepared isn’t just about food storage, bug-out bags, or escape routes. This book reframes the concept so that preparedness is about becoming the kind of person who can meet the world head-on.

It’s written for a younger generation — especially young men — but the questions it raises are for all of us to consider:

• What kind of person do you want to be? What do you have to do to become that person?

• What does it mean to build competence, confidence, and character in a collapsing system?

• How do we prepare ourselves not just to survive, but to thrive?

• What does true independence look like when the old paths (college, corporate ladders, consumer scripts) are breaking down?

You don’t necessarily need to read the book to join in on the conversation, although the outcome will be much richer if we all do dive into the book together. Still, even if you’re short on time but long on curiosity and perspective, we invite you to join us.

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How it works

• Kickoff Conversation: Join Susan Harley and Zahra Sethna on Thursday, September 4 at 11am/ET here on Substack Live. We’ll lead the discussion, you’ll jump in via chat.

• Mid-September: Matt and Maxim Smith will be guests on the Collapse Life podcast to talk about the origins of the book and what comes next.

• Mid-October: Maxim Smith will join the book chat to talk about his experience and answer your questions.

• Between sessions: Susan and I will share short prompts, quotes, or related readings here on Substack. You bring your thoughts, even if they come from your own life experience instead of the book.

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Let’s build something rare: a place where ideas meet action, and where preparedness means more than just stockpiling flour sacks and jars of preserves.