| Title | : | Solastalgia: An Anthology of Emotion in a Disappearing World |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0813948851 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780813948850 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 187 |
| Publication | : | Published February 14, 2023 |
The concept of solastalgia comes from the Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht, who describes it as "the homesickness we feel while still at home." It’s the pain and longing we feel as we realize the world immediately around us is changing, with our love for that world serving as a catalyst for action on its behalf.
This powerful anthology brings together thirty-four writers—educators, journalists, poets, and scientists—to share their emotions in the face of environmental crisis. They share their solastalgia, their beloved places, their vulnerability, their stories, their vision of what we can create.
Solastalgia: An Anthology of Emotion in a Disappearing World Reviews
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Quite possibly my favorite book of the year. It has absolutely wrecked me.
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4.5⭐
"To feel solastalgia is to feel pain, sorrow and grief but it is also to recognize that the source of this pain is our love for the places of which we are a part."
Solastalgia as a word means the emotion felt when a much loved place is desolated by climate change. And as a book, Solastalgia brings together a myriad of authors to talk about the impact of climate change on their homes, families and lives. But what it does more is creates this unique reflection opportunity for the reader that is grounded in both grief and in hope, which is rare for a climate change book.
When we recognize the grief we feel over how the places we live and places we love are impacted by climate change, we are able to channel that sadness into action and that is ultimately the hope of this book in recognizing how many things people can do to help create change.
This book was special and made me think so much. I have so many highlights. I will be thinking about it for a long time. -
Made me think a lot about my own climate anxiety and how intangible it is, having grown up in the suburbs. Was interesting to read perspectives from folks who are so deeply connected to their environment.
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4.5/5
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"Once, I read, we nearly went extinct before. The climate changed, turned cold and arid, deserts grewe, the ice did too, and we started to die off. Between 123,000 and 195,000 vears ago, we dropped in numbers from more than 10,000 adults to just a few hundred. Somewhere, tucked inside our bodies, is the DNA map that traces every single human alive today back to that group who survived. We've been here before, and our bodies knor it, our brains and emotions do too; we recognize this place of threat. The fear and despair; hope and imagination it calls us too. Fear and hope saved us when we were fish, and rat-like, vertebrates, and early humans in danger of extinction. And despair and imagination did too. I can imagine the end of us. It isn't hard an earth free of our wounding and a great exhalation of relief. And I can imagine the next evolution of us too, our change into something more glorious. That hoped-for land at the end of the water. This moment of possibility rises before us, none of it yet written except in our bones, our brains, our cells, our DNA, our nature, the thing we are. But I don't know where it will take us. What will happen next. I can only listen to the body, the universe that made it, this ancient desire to live. It sounds like prayer. Like begging the ancestors to teach us how to give up once again."
Solastagia, a term coined by Glenn Albrecht, refers to the distress caused by environmental change; the homesickness we feel while still at home; the lived experience of the desolation of a much-loved landscape. It is the emotion that so many feel in response to finding our beloved world so impacted, under threat, and certain to suffer radical change. "To feel solastalgia is to feel pain, sorrow, and grief, but it is also to recognize that the source of this pain is our love for the places of which we are part of." In this anthology, the authors masterfully guide us through this journey of grief, love, and ultimately, empowerment, urging us to embrace our emotions as a force for healing and change. They provide witness and beauty and a way forward, despite despair. -
This was my first anthology. Solastalgia took me on a wild ride of emotions. Each section of the book took me through a stage of grief, ending in an awe inspiring call to action.
At its peek, during the Nikole Brown essay, I bawled my eyes out. The front of my shirt was soaked with salty tears and perspiration. I’m not a cryer, but revolutionary writing will have that effect on any rational human-being.
I feel as though I’ve endured all the stages of grief in a mere five days, and now I’m ready to turn my own behavior around. I’m prepared to take on the task of controlling the controllable. Starting today. Starting now. -
A lovely piece of vast evidence that community is our cure for solastalgia. So many beautiful examples in this book, truly a guide and resource for anyone battling eco-anxiety or struggling with activist burn-out. Keep it joyful and in community, even in the face of ecocide all around us. We still live in a beautiful world and are not separate from it. There is a possible future plot twist that we can all work together to establish.
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Solastalgia is a neologism that describes a form of mental or existential distress caused by environmental change. OK, good. However, this slim and entirely too self-aware collection is not quite there regarding a grand unifying theory of psychological, cognitive, and spiritual impact of the climate crisis, but it is a start.
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Poignant. Very American-focused but the research is still young, and the experiences from across the world are in the process of being captured. A lot of focus on spectacular violence rather than slow violence. It will be interesting to see how we develop from here, how we write about the un-spectacular, the non-viral disasters as well.
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Beautifully written stories from a variety of authors about our environmental catastrophic situation we are in. And how we as individuals can do our best to keep sane and to help the situation. Highly recommended!
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One of the best and most impactful books I’ve ever read. Incredibly sad, emotional, and moving. I am an activist and this gave so many messages to turn to in tough times. Everyone on Earth should read this book.
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This book both wrecked me and helped me. Great to read about other people who also "suffer" from this. I honestly connected do much of what was on these pages.
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Such an essential and powerful read! This was my most emotional read of the year!
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I’m sure all these climate change essays are very good…I just wasn’t in the mood for them.
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To see in print all the pain we share. Knowing that we are all experiencing this together is somehow comforting and frightening.
This book is topping a lot of my lists. It's so brutal and real
