The
Weight
of
Empathy

Two journeys, one book

The Weight of Empathy is an exploration of both our relationship with animals and the author's own process of learning how to be a compassionate person in an often violent and uncaring world. Accompanied by over a hundred photographs, it takes the form of a travel memoir spanning a twenty-two-month trip around the world, with visits to half a dozen animal sanctuaries in Southeast Asia, India, and Europe—and it serves, in part, as the origin story of the philanthropic enterprise Lucas started upon his return.

The book begins on the west coast of the U.S. and traces a path through Australia, Japan, Southeast Asia, India, Sri Lanka, Europe, and more, before returning through the United States. The journey leads back to a few favorite places, to countless new destinations, and ultimately back through a childhood home, as the author struggles to think about his role in the world in a way that honors his values and life story, the current and historical state of the planet, and all those he came to know and love along the way.

Part autobiography, part travel story, part meditation on the diversity of human experience—our failings and our potential—The Weight of Empathy is an impassioned, personal, yet thoroughly reasoned call to action in the interest of a kinder, more just, and merciful world.