Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth Rush | 2019 | Milkweed Editions | Paperback $ 16
With every passing day, and every record-breaking hurricane, it grows clearer that climate change is neither imagined nor distant — and that rising seas are transforming the coastline of the United States in irrevocable ways. In Rising, Elizabeth Rush guides readers through some of the places where this change has been most dramatic, from the Gulf Coast to Miami, and from New York City to the Bay Area. For many of the plants, animals, and humans in these places, the options are stark: retreat or perish in place.
Disclosure statement: I received a physical copy of this book from the publisher via a giveaway hosted on Goodreads.
I put this title on my to-read list because the topic of climate change impact on coastal communities is personally significant to me; I currently live on the Gulf Coast of Texas.
In Rising, the author investigates the changing coastlines of our country and discusses both individual and community-level reactions of the people in vulnerable places. This is really a very story-driven look at the topic; the author combines narratives of her own personal experiences — often quite intimately personal — with those of many other people from totally different backgrounds and personalities, plus a lot of relevant climate science info for context.
This is not an easy book. The ultimate message seems to be meant to be one of hope, of the possibility of building a resilient future in the face of this intensifying cataclysm. To be honest, though, to me the book is just bleak.
I’m not even sure how to recommend this one. It’s certainly beautifully written and is well worth a read for anyone who’s interested in a personal narrative-driven overview of the ongoing ecological and economical changes on our country’s coasts, from sea to shining sea so to speak. It’s also just flat-out depressing. If you’re already fairly familiar with the topic and, like me, have landed in a state of wretched acceptance of the slow-motion destruction of the world as we know it in progress, you may be better off skipping this one.
Links:
- Official website of Elizabeth Rush
- Author profile from publisher Milkweed Editions
- Book review at the New York Times
- Book review at Publishers Weekly
Publication information: Rush, Elizabeth. Rising: Dispatches from the new American shore. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Milkweed Editions, 2019. Paperback.
Source: Provided by publisher, via Goodreads giveaway.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.