All We Can Save is a 2020 collection of essays and poetry edited by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Dr. Katharine Wilkinson and published by One World.[1] The collection sets out to highlight a wide range of women's voices in the environmental movement, most of whom are from North America.[2][3] The book represents a wide range of essays, and creative works by over 50 women involved in climate change activism, science, and policy.[2][4][5][6]

All We Can Save
EditorAyana Elizabeth Johnson
Katharine Wilkinson
Publication date
September 22, 2020
Websiteallwecansave.earth

All We Can Save focuses on building a feminine and feminist voice in the climate movement.[4][7] Many commentators focused on the broad range of perspectives included in the book.[4] Sierra magazine commentator Wendy Becktold called the book a "big tent" and "grab bag" approach to communicating the climate crisis—one that "feels like just what we need right now.”[2] Rolling Stone’s Phoebe Neidl said the book was “a feast of ideas and perspectives, setting a big table for the climate movement, declaring all are welcome.”[5]

History edit

Origins edit

Johnson and Wilkinson decided to create the anthology while attending a conference where the conversation was dominated by white male voices,[8] with the aim of highlighting the breadth and diversity of climate leadership.[8]

The book’s title was inspired by the closing stanza of Adrienne Rich’s poem “Natural Resources”.[9][10]

"My heart is moved by all I cannot save:

so much has been destroyed

I have to cast my lot with those

who age after age, perversely,

with no extraordinary power,

reconstitute the world."

Content edit

Reception edit

Reception was broadly very positive, listing the book on a number of best seller and "best of 2020" lists.[11] Smithsonian magazine named it one of the top 10 best science books for 2020.[12] Wendy Becktold from Sierra magazine positively reviewed the book "All We Can Save is a powerful tool because it articulates and holds space for this complexity."[13] Ms. magazine reviewer Sarah Montgomery focused on the urgency of the collection in light of the climate crisis, calling it a "sorely needed glimmer of hope—a reminder that there is a way out of this mess: collective action."[7] The book was featured in numerous nonfiction best sellers lists, including the Los Angeles Times,[14] The Washington Post,[15] and Porchlight Books.[16]

Notable press edit

Among the readers of the book are many notable women leaders, including Roxane Gay, Jane Fonda, Emma Watson, and Maria Papova.[17][18][19][20] The book was featured in many publications with interviews from Johnson and Wilkinson, including The Today Show, The Washington Post, Time magazine, and Democracy Now!.[21][9][22][23]

Contributors edit

Authors contributing to the book include:[24]

Audiobook narrators edit

Narrators of the audiobook include:[25]

  • Alfre Woodard (Indigenous Prophecy and Mother Earth; Collards Are Just as Good as Kale; An Offering from the Bayou)
  • America Ferrera (On Fire; Harnessing Cultural Power; Mothering in an Age of Extinction; Like the Monarch)
  • Cristela Alonzo (The Politics of Policy; Mending the Landscape; Solutions Underfoot; A Field Guide for Transformation; Community Is Our Best Chance)
  • Ilana Glazer (A Handful of Dust; We Are Sunrise; Under the Weather)
  • Jane Fonda (Reciprocity; How to Talk About Climate Change; Catalytic Capital; The Adaptive Mind; The Seed Underground)
  • Janet Mock (What Is Emergent Strategy?; Wakanda Doesn’t Have Suburbs; At the Intersections)
  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Beyond Coal; Heaven or High Water; Public Service for Public Health; Water Is a Verb)
  • Kimberly Drew (A Green New Deal for All of Us; A Tale of Three Cities; Sacred Resistance; Solutions at Sea)
  • Bahni Turpin (Calling In; Truth Be Told; Home Is Always Worth It; Black Gold; A Letter to Adults)
  • Sophia Bush (Litigating in a Time of Crisis; Becoming a Climate Citizen; Buildings Designed for Life; Dear Fossil Fuel Executives; Loving a Vanishing World)
  • Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson (Begin; Onward; Gratitude; all poems; and additional material read)

The All We Can Save Project edit

Alongside the publication of All We Can Save in 2020, Wilkinson and Johnson co-founded The All We Can Save Project,[21] which is an independent operating project of the umbrella nonprofit organization Multiplier.[26] Its mission is to nurture the “we” for all we can save and a "leaderful" climate community to grow a life-giving future.[27]

The All We Can Save Project provides open-source resources to support engagement with All We Can Save, including a self-led reading group model called All We Can Save Circles,[28][29][30] resources for educators teaching the anthology,[28][31] and resources for working with climate emotions.[32]

References edit

  1. ^ "One World - Books". Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  2. ^ a b c Cohen, Ilana (2020-09-05). "Q&A: Why Women Leading the Climate Movement are Underappreciated and Sometimes Invisible". Inside Climate News. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  3. ^ ""All We Can Save" Is the Big Tent Approach to Climate Activism We Need". Sierra Club. 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  4. ^ a b c Martinko, Katherine (November 18, 2020). "'All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis' (Book Review)". Treehugger. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  5. ^ a b Neidl, Phoebe (2020-09-21). "Why 'All We Can Save' Will Make You Feel Hopeful About the Climate Crisis". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  6. ^ "Women's Leadership on Climate Gets Spotlight in Anthology 'All We Can Save'". KQED. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  7. ^ a b Montgomery, Sarah (September 23, 2020). ""All We Can Save" is the Environmental Feminist Text We Need Right Now". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  8. ^ a b "Natural Anthem". Atmos. 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  9. ^ a b "They edited a book about the climate crisis. Here's what they learned about hope". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  10. ^ All We Can Save. United States: One World. 2020. pp. xvii–xxiv. ISBN 9780593237069.
  11. ^ "Press". All We Can Save. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  12. ^ Wetzel, Corryn; Spring, Joe; Lallensack, Rachael (November 27, 2020). "The Ten Best Science Books of 2020". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  13. ^ ""All We Can Save" Is the Big Tent Approach to Climate Activism We Need". Sierra Club. 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  14. ^ "Bestsellers list Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020". Los Angeles Times. October 7, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  15. ^ "Washington Post paperback bestsellers". Washington Post. September 7, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  16. ^ "September 2020 Nonfiction Bestsellers". Porchlight. September 1, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  17. ^ "Roxane Gay Always Pays It Forward". W Magazine. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  18. ^ "All We Can Save Instagram". Instagram. July 23, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  19. ^ "Emma Watson Is Back Being A Book Fairy For Cop26". British Vogue. 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  20. ^ Popova, Maria (2022-01-28). "Highlights in Hindsight: Favorite Books of the Past Year". The Marginalian. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  21. ^ a b "How 2 women are changing the face of the climate change movement". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  22. ^ "Women Are Transforming What Climate Leadership Looks Like". Time. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  23. ^ ""All We Can Save": As Climate Disasters Wreck Our Planet, Women Leaders Are Key to Solving the Crisis". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  24. ^ "Contributors". All We Can Save. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  25. ^ "One World - All We Can Save - Unabridged Audiobook Download". Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  26. ^ "All We Can Save Project". Multiplier. 2020-08-26. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  27. ^ "The All We Can Save Project". The All We Can Save Project. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  28. ^ a b "Women Climate Leaders Provide Truth, Courage, and Solutions in All We Can Save". Penguin Random House Higher Education. 2021-07-13. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  29. ^ "All We Can Save book circles for the climate movement". GeoEd Trek. 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  30. ^ "Circles". The All We Can Save Project. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  31. ^ "Climate Feminism: Where Compassion and Justice Meet". Women's eNews. 2022-01-13. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  32. ^ "Resources for working with climate emotions". The All We Can Save Project. Retrieved 2022-03-19.

External links edit