Dawkins, Lalwani, and Mackesy have all penned their own contributions to the series
(Picture: Alicia Fernandes/Penguin)“There’s a drawing I did that was: ‘we don’t know about tomorrow, but all we need to know is that we love each other’. And for me, that kind of sums it up,” writes bestselling author of The Boy, The Fox, The Mole and The Horse, Charlie Mackesy.
“We don’t know, really. We’ve got vaccines and lockdown results and all that. But ultimately, what gives me hope is the resolve and kindness there is in the community. That’s what will win: how we choose to treat each other.”
So writes Mackesy in a new essay - ‘Covid has shown we can build a kinder social media’ - released as part of Penguin’s latest series, Reasons for Hope.
The publishing house has enlisted some of their finest authors to seek out the silver linings of the pandemic, from Mackesy to Richard Dawkins, Philippa Perry, Nikita Lalwani, Dara McAnulty, and Kevin Kwan, to name a few.
The essays will be published throughout March, offering an optimistic take on both the past year and what might lie ahead.
Richard Dawkins wrote the first instalment, reflecting on how scientific breakthroughs that allowed the development of the vaccine could transform our battle against everything from the common cold to cancer.
“Looking beyond this particular virus, the techniques developed to make messenger RNA vaccines can be generalised to future vaccines against other viruses. Perhaps also against cancer. Such future vaccines might even be swiftly edited to crush rapidly changing viruses like those responsible for the notoriously heterogeneous ‘common cold’ – and not only those versions which actually are coronaviruses. The point is that as soon as the enemy’s genetic code has been sequenced, the data can be fed into the vaccine production protocol with near-instant results.”
By contrast, 17-year-old Dara McAnulty - naturalist, environmental campaigner and the youngest ever winner of the RSPB Medal - wrote about finding moments of joy in the first whisperings of spring, and the fresh hope of the Biden administration.
“Alongside these tiny miracles are the big news hollerings of hope, that newly elected US President, Joe Biden has rejoined the Paris Climate Accord. Signalling a more determined contribution to combat climate catastrophe. The weight of the previous presidential reign of environmental abuse has lifted and the question of the future of our planet will be raised to the status we all desperately need.”
The Reasons for Hope essays will be published on penguin.co.uk throughout March, with the first three available here.
Penguin Random House has also made a donation on behalf of the contributing authors to the National Literacy Trust, in support of families impacted by the crisis.
