The Future and You: Reflections on Freedom, Responsibility and What It Means to Be Human

A Reminder of the Rights We Can't Afford to Forget -

Reflections on Freedom, Responsibility and What It Means to Be Human

What holds us together when the world feels fractured? In The Future and You, Emma Gilligan offers a quiet but powerful meditation on the enduring role of human rights and how they can ground us in a shifting world.

Written as a letter to her great-nephew and future generations, this deeply personal book draws on Gilligan’s lifelong commitment to global justice and moral responsibility, from the war-torn landscapes of Chechnya and Ukraine to the lecture halls of Indiana University. With clarity and purpose, she reflects on freedom, duty, dignity and the fragile beauty of being human.

Presented as a series of reflections, each centered on a fundamental human right, the book blends Gilligan’s values and lived experience to offer a framework for daily life.

This is not a manifesto or a memoir. It’s a reminder that we don’t exist in a vacuum and that courage, compassion and responsibility are already within us. We need only return to them.

The Future and You invites readers to remember that the freedoms to speak openly, move freely, live securely and be cared for are not guaranteed — they must be protected, practiced and passed on.

If you're seeking resilience, understanding or a sense of direction in uncertain times, you’ll find insight and reassurance woven throughout this concise yet powerful read. Gilligan’s whimsical illustrations add warmth and imagination to her call for introspection and renewal.

Emma Gilligan is an award-winning scholar and co-founder of the U.S. State Department’s Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group for Ukraine.

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Release date

Audiobook: September 26, 2025