May was… only a couple months ago, right? Oh well, it's never too late to get those book reviews out there!
Some of Us Just Fall: On Nature and Not Getting Better by Polly Atkin
This was a gorgeous book, a memoir of nature in the English countryside, as told through the eyes of someone with hypermobility and EDS. She weaves together different themes such as memory, the stories we tell, who is "allowed" to experience nature, anthropology, the way we view disability, the fossil record, medical abuse, and more. It was absolutely gorgeously written, and I ended up reading it slowly because there was so much to chew on there. Definitely gonna be on my "Favorites of 2024" list.
Rift: A Memoir of Breaking Away from Christian Patriarchy by Cait West
Y'all know that I'm a big fan of "escaping from cults or cult-like situations" memoirs, and while this one wasn't one of my favorites, it was still worth reading. The author grew up in a very similar situation to many of the homeschoolers I knew, with extreme restrictions placed on her because of the understanding that her goal in life was to be a wife and mother. Her story itself was compelling, but I didn't feel like the execution was very good— the story sort of ran out of steam at the end. Still pretty interesting, though.
Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation by Paul Hawken
A sort of sequel to his earlier book Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, Regeneration focuses on detailing the policies, both local, national, and international, that are needed to stabilize the climate and create a more equitable world for everyone. The book gives me hope and despair in turn— the solutions are often very simple or straightforward, but having the political will to enact them (or even knowing where to begin) is very intimidating. The book comes with links to a website that helps you figure out how to get started, though. We have all the tools we need, right now. We just need to use them.
Previously on What I've Been Reading:
~~~
No comments:
Post a Comment