The Survivalists is a smart, sharp novel, which uses widely held beliefs about liberalism and woke culture to juxtapose Aretha’s slow glide into doomsday prepping. Soon, Aretha is alienated from her friends, drawn further and further into this world of the survivalists, and she must decide how much of herself she is willing to compromise, and what her values truly are. Brittany has a small arsenal of military-issue guns in her closet. Aretha tries to ignore the fact that they have guns in their house, and when she moves in with them, small things about Aaron and his roommates bother her.

But is it?Īaron is a survivalist-essentially a doomsday prepper, and his roommates Brittany and James have built a bunker in their backyard. When she meets Aaron, roaster for Tactical Coffee, on a dating app, everything seems like it’s written in the stars.

She wants to make partner at her law firm, not because it’s what she really wants, but because it’s what she thinks it’s what she’s supposed to want, and she wants to meet the perfect guy, because deep down, she’s lonely. Protagonist Aretha has it all-a so-called “good job” at a corporate law firm, a best friend, Nia, who is a well-off private practice therapist, and an active dating life, but she still craves more. The Survivalists by Kashana Cauley ruthlessly interrogates what it means to be successful as a Black woman, a Millennial, and a liberal living in an urban center.

Kashana cauley the survivalists