CHOOSE YOUR READING EXPERIENCE

How to join How Worlds Break, How People Survive

Every reading journey asks something different of us. Some people want to move quietly in the background, following the conversation without ever saying a word. Others want access to the whole classroom experience, where context becomes as important as the text, and the questions we ask become part of the transformation. Many just want a place to land, listen, and make meaning alongside others who are trying to understand the times we are living in.

However you arrive, there is room for you here.

Below are the three ways you can participate in How Worlds Break, How People Survive, a guided reading experience through N. K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy. Read through each option and choose the one that fits the life you are living right now.

OPTION ONE: READ ALONG (FREE)

For the reader who wants structure, community, and pace.

If you want to follow the course at your own rhythm while staying aligned with the larger reading community, this is where you begin. Each week you will receive:

• The Weekly reading assignment: A simple chapter breakdown that keeps us all moving together.

• Discussion Questions: These guide our live classes and provide a framework for thinking through each section.

• One weekly Mixtape Track: A reflective, thematic piece that opens the heart of the week’s reading and offers you a way into the deeper meaning of Jemisin’s world.

This option keeps you connected, grounded, and present without overwhelming your schedule. If you want to read alongside us without the whole academic experience, this tier is enough.

OPTION TWO: JOIN THE CLASSROOM (PAID)

For the reader who wants depth, context, and guided interpretation.

If you want a space where we slow down, think together, and treat this trilogy like the kind of text that can actually teach us something about the world we’re living in, then the classroom tier is the place for you.

Paid subscribers receive everything in the free tier plus:

• December Prep Series (Paid Exclusive)

Throughout December, I will share interviews, background information, contextual tools, and supporting materials that help you enter Jemisin’s world with clarity.
Think of this as your ramp into the course: the history, the vocabulary, the political landscape, the thematic architecture, and the worldbuilding logic behind the trilogy all before we begin.

This material is only available to paid subscribers and functions like your pre-course seminar.

• The Weekly Classroom Podcast: Each week, I’ll record exclusive audio that walks you through the deeper layers of the reading, such as themes, politics, emotional architecture, and/or decisions that Jemisin makes that shape the world of the Stillness.

This is the heart of the course, so think of this as your private study or reading session with me.

• The Weekly Instructor’s Notes: A short companion piece to the podcast that highlights the core ideas, frames the week’s questions, and gives you a clean way to revisit the material.

• One Rotating Deep Dive Each Week: You’ll receive one of the following:

• Annotated Passages

• Curated Links Packet

• Pop-Culture Parallel

These help you read with context and clarity without requiring hours of extra work.

• Written Office Hours (Every 2–3 Weeks): A space where paid readers can ask questions, and I respond to a select few with clarity and care. This is the closest you can get to a university-level Jemisin course outside a classroom. If you want that depth and want to support the work, this is where you belong.

OPTION THREE: AUDIT THE COURSE (NO SUBSCRIPTION NEEDED)

For the reader who wants to be present but unstructured.

Some of you simply want to show up to the live discussions, listen, reflect, and take what you need. That is perfectly valid.

You can:

• Attend live classes

• Listen to the conversation

• Take notes at your own pace

• Engage without the Substack materials

This option is for the reader who wants the community without the commitment.

WHICH EXPERIENCE IS FOR YOU?

Honestly, there is no “right” way to take this course. There is only the way that honors your energy, capacity, curiosity, pockets, and the demands of your life right now.

Please note: You can start in one tier and shift later. So if you want to begin quietly and then decide you want more, you will have options when you’re ready.

Ultimately, what matters is that you choose the path that allows you to engage deeply and meaningfully with the text, without guilt, pressure, or the weight of comparison.

I’ll be releasing more soon, but in the meantime, choose your path, gather your books, and prepare to enter a world that has everything to say about our own.