7 Reasons why YOU should come to Carla Gericke’s “The Ecstatic Pessimist” book roundtable at 1:10p at the Exhibitor Hall Bookstore and/or the Boomer/Zoomer debate at 3:10p on Stage 2. #ffest21
1. Author, activist, and attorney, Carla Gericke has been successfully cat-herding thousands of libertarians in the Free State of New Hampshire for more than a dozen years.
2. In 2020, despite lockdown orders to the contrary, Carla told the world that “PorcFest is a First and Second Amendment protected assembly,” and proceeded to host the then 17th Annual Porcupine Freedom Festival, the ONLY event worldwide to proceed as scheduled. More than one thousand libertarians, including folks like Tom Woods, gathered for a weeklong celebration of liberty, without any negative health consequences.
3. In 2014, Carla, after being arrested in 2010 and charged with felony wiretapping carrying a 7-year sentence for filming a routine traffic stop, fought back and won a landmark First Circuit lawsuit against the federal government that affirmed the First Amendment right to film police officers, and that qualified immunity would no longer apply. That year, Carla was named one of NH Magazine’s “Remarkable Women.” This widely-cited case is part of the reason we are now talking about police accountability and reform because for the first time in human history, ordinary citizens CAN RECORD and PROVE police malfeasance.
4. In 2020, Carla ran for NH Senate (R) on a pro-liberty platform critical of lockdowns and mask mandates. She got 44% against a now 12-term Establishment Elite (D). (Consider contributing to her 2022 race!)
5. Nick Gillespie of Reason Magazine said “The Ecstatic Pessimist,” is “a fantastic package of writings that veer from fiction to autobiography and memoir to political polemics…. I highly recommend ‘The Ecstatic Pessimist: Stories of Hope (Mostly)’.”
6. In late 2017, at the age of 45, Carla decided to retool her life for health and longevity. She quit drinking alcohol, adopted an Ancestral lifestyle by following a Keto/Paleo diet and doing intermittent fasting (now up to 7 days), returned to her yoga and meditation practice, and lost 50+ pounds, which she has kept off. The concluding personal essay in The Ecstatic Pessimist deals with this inspirational story, and offers lessons for others seeking to improve their own lives. Live free and thrive!
7. The Ecstatic Pessimist contains award-winning, previously published short stories written while completing her MFA in Creative Writing, as well as 13 essays about the Free State Project and her activism in New Hampshire, including:
* The world’s first pro-TOR protest to save a local NH library from the Department of Homeland Security’s overreach;
* A 420 rally that went horribly wrong when undercover narcs arrested the only Black kid;
* Fighting police militarization and being called a “domestic terrorist” in 2013 in a government grant application for a BEARCAT. Frankly, this 2021 “extremist” stuff seems like a… downgrade?!? 
Buy your copy of “The Ecstatic Pessimist: Stories of Hope (Mostly)” at the Bookstore, and then come join Carla at 1:10p for a roundtable discussion, and to get your copy signed! Can’t make it? Read this essay!