The essay collection Not Too Late: Changing The Climate Story from Despair to Possibility edited by Rebecca Solnit and Thelma Young Lutunatabua is itself an illustration of the challenge posed by the title.
A lot of the essays remained too abstract to inspire me – frustrating, because as I understand it, one of the key points of this book is the importance of specific, personal stories as a way to inspire hope and keep despair at bay.
The most personal / gripping section for me was the interview with Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner – perhaps it was her recounting of conversations with her relationship with her own daughter and the psychological growth she felt she had to go through to transform herself into a worthy parent.
Ironically, one of the sections I really tuned in for was An Extremely Incomplete List of Climate Victories. It was just a dry list of factual events, but I found it quite inspiring – perhaps because it was at least specific and concrete.
The closing essay from Lutunatabua – Not Only Danger but a Promise – was another one that made the leap from the abstract to the personal.
There were a few gems in here, but it is tough to be too critical of a book with such a worthy / important cause.
- Read Not Too Late by Rebecca Solnit + Thelma Young Lutunatabua