Sawyer’s Reach: The Battle for Tomorrow — Nick Duda
Sawyer’s Reach: The Battle for Tomorrow is a story about technology, community, family, and what it means to be human in a world that increasingly tries to automate those things away.
Each chapter includes questions to consider before you read (to surface your own assumptions), questions to explore after you read (for reflection and debate), a personal connection prompt, and a concrete action step — because this book isn’t just meant to be read. It’s meant to inspire you to do something.
The future isn’t something that happens to us. It is something we are currently building. Let’s build something worth living in.
Assign “Before You Read” as journal prompts before each chapter. Use “After You Read” for Socratic seminars or small-group discussion.
Select 2–3 “After You Read” questions per session. “Connect to Your Life” prompts make great conversation starters beyond the book.
Read together and use the Action Steps to spark real decisions about technology in your own home.
Keep a journal alongside this guide. The before/after questions work beautifully as writing prompts.
“The future isn’t something that happens to us; it is something we are currently building. Let’s make sure we build something worth living in.”— Nick Duda, Foreword to Sawyer’s Reach: The Battle for Tomorrow
Think of one piece of technology you use every single day. Does it serve your values, or does it subtly pull you away from them? Be honest.
Before you begin reading, write down three words that describe your relationship with technology right now. Keep them. Return to them when you finish the book.
Have you ever searched for something and sensed the results weren’t showing you the full picture? What made you suspicious, and what did you do?
Search your own town online. Does what you find match the reality you know? Talk with someone in your community about what the internet says — and doesn’t say — about where you live.
Apps, music, feeds, and lighting are often designed to influence how we feel. Can you identify one technology that shapes your mood? Did you choose that effect, or did it choose you?
Research one technology currently used in public spaces — stores, schools, or cities — that tracks or influences behavior. Share what you find with your group.
Think about places in your community that changed due to corporate or government development. Were residents meaningfully involved in those decisions?
Find out who owns a road, park, utility, or building in your community. Is that ownership transparent? Does it feel right?
Have you ever stayed quiet about something wrong because it felt too big or too risky to address? What would it take for you to speak up?
Look up the privacy policy for one app you use daily. What data does it actually collect? Share what you learn — most people never read these.
Count the smart devices in your home right now. What would it mean if each one had a backdoor? What would you be willing to give up for the sake of privacy?
Audit your home’s connected devices this week. Turn off microphone and location access on at least one app that doesn’t need it. Notice how it feels.
Think of a time you did something that required total commitment with an uncertain outcome. What kept you going?
Write a short personal “values statement” — 3–5 sentences about what you would risk something for. Keep it. Revisit it at the end of the book.
Think about a public confession that genuinely changed how you felt about an issue. What made it meaningful? What makes confessions feel hollow?
Identify one issue in your community that deserves more attention. Think of one concrete way you could bring it to light — a post, a letter, or a conversation with a neighbor.
When was the last time your body had to do something your mind was afraid of? What did that experience teach you?
Have a family or group conversation: if the internet went down tomorrow, what’s your plan? Consider making a simple backup communication plan.
Think about a moment when you felt unexpectedly moved by someone else’s courage or honesty — online or in person. What about it stuck with you?
Part I is complete. Spend 10 minutes reflecting: what has this section changed about how you think about corporate power, community, or technology? Write it down.
LifeSync is pitched as providing fulfillment, curated joy, and a post-work life. Where does “convenience” become something you should be worried about?
Discuss with your group: what would a truly beneficial AI look like? Write 5 principles any AI system designed for the public good should follow.
When was the last time you did the right thing and no one noticed? How did that feel? What kept you doing it anyway?
Think of one good habit or value you hold that goes unrecognized. Commit to practicing it deliberately this week — not for recognition, but because it matters.
Is there anything in today’s world you have accepted as “normal” that a version of you from five years ago would have found alarming? What shifted?
Look up the concept of “normalization of deviance.” Discuss one example of it you see in technology, politics, or society today.
If you had to build a small, resilient community of people you trust, who would you include? What skills and qualities would matter most?
Reach out this week to someone in your life you haven’t spoken to in too long. Tell them what they mean to you. Strong relationships are infrastructure.
Think about a system you interact with that rewards certain behaviors and punishes others. Is that system transparent? Is it fair?
Research “social scoring” or behavioral compliance systems currently in use somewhere in the world. Bring one example to your group and discuss what safeguards, if any, exist.
What is one practical skill — growing food, fixing things, generating energy — that you wish you had? What would it take to learn it this year?
Pick one self-sufficiency skill and learn even the basics this month — bread baking, a garden starter, basic electrical knowledge, or food preservation.
Have you ever been told that the way you were living — your choices, beliefs, or lifestyle — was “non-compliant” with some external standard? How did you respond?
Learn about one historical instance when a government or corporation forcibly “relocated” a community in the name of the “greater good.” Discuss what lessons it holds for today.
Think about a powerful platform you depend on. What would happen if that system turned its power against the people who built it — or against you?
Before Part III, pause and write: what is the difference between resistance before something happens and resistance after? Which is harder — and which is more common?
Think about one system in your life that optimizes for efficiency at the expense of human flourishing. What would it look like to redesign it around people instead?
Research the concept of “AI alignment.” Share one insight from your research with your group.
When has a group you were part of accomplished something none of you could have done alone? What made the collective effort possible?
Identify one challenge in your community that requires collective action. Find out what group is already working on it — and make contact.
What is one “seed” you could plant in your community right now — a small, quiet act that might have larger effects over time?
Organize or attend one communal gathering — a meal, neighborhood meeting, or volunteer day. Pay attention to how it feels to share space and purpose with others.
Think of a cause you believe in. How do you hold onto commitment when progress is slow and the problem feels overwhelming?
Find an organization working on a global-scale problem you care about. Learn about one specific, concrete thing they are doing. Consider supporting it.
Think about someone in your life you love fiercely. What would you do — what would you be capable of — to protect them?
Tell someone you love what they mean to you today. Not in a crisis — right now. Don’t wait for a siege to say the things that matter.
Think about a time you changed someone’s mind — or had your own changed — not through argument, but through sharing an experience or emotion. What made it work?
Share a story from your own life with your group — not a polished one, but a real one. A moment of love, fear, wonder, or grief. Notice what happens in the room when you do.
Return to the three words you wrote about your relationship with technology at the beginning of this guide. Have they changed? What do you want to do differently?
Choose one thing — one concrete, real thing — that this book has inspired you to do or change. Write it down. Tell someone. Then do it. That is how a new dawn begins.
Sawyer’s Reach is a story about a family that refused to be passive — that looked at a world drifting wrong and decided to do something about it.
What are you building? What are you protecting? What are you willing to fight for?
The future isn’t something that happens to us. It is something we are currently building. Let’s build something worth living in.
“Technology is a tool. People are the point.”— The Institute for Human Flourishing and Responsible Technology