Book Review: All We Can Save
Harnessing Truth, Courage and Solutions to Lead Humanity Forward
Reviewed by Nannette and Kate Trinkaus
October 2022
All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis is an anthology of writings by 60 brilliant women at the forefront of the climate movement, all with different views and expertise in each of their respective areas. The book presents the need for leadership in the climate crisis that is characteristically feminine and feminist: where we create a culture focused on collaboration, compassion, lifting each other up, sharing resources, and making a meaningful impact rather than a culture centered on dominance, greed, relentless competition, and being in control (which has gotten us into this mess in the first place).
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Each section of the book clearly defines the struggles and hopes that we all share in navigating through this critical time on our Mother Earth. One of the unique and powerful things about this book is its discussion of the emotional rollercoaster of working to address the climate crisis – the dread, heartbreak, and grief that comes with seeing the natural world being destroyed and the incredible hope and opportunity that comes with radically reimagining a better world for us and
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future generations. It emphasizes the need for restoring Indigenous wisdom and remembering that we are a part of nature, not separate from it. The book encapsulates the message that a diverse range of voices and perspectives is needed by including essays from scientists, activists, artists, farmers, policy workers, journalists, and community leaders each showing how their work strives to push their communities and the world in a better direction. It highlights the need for environmental justice as those who are and will continue to be most hurt by the worst effects of the climate crisis are those who have contributed the least to it – mostly poorer communities and communities of color. All We Can Save educates readers on the state of the problem, offers bountiful solutions and reasons for hope, and motivates us to take action and join the community working to heal our planet.
This book shows us that we all have a role to play in making the changes necessary to reverse the climate crisis and provides pathways to get involved and use our talents and what gives us joy to make a difference.
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Photo credit: Climate Action Venn Diagrams – download a template to create your own.
The Sierra Club Book Club has been reading All We Can Save over the past several months, discussing one chapter at a time in-depth. Our book club attendees explore our climate-related emotions, how we are dealing with all the doom and gloom, where we see areas for hope, and how we can work within our own circles of influence to initiate change. We share our stories and resources that have inspired and motivated us. This book club gives us all a safe place to disclose our thoughts and emotions and to feel heard. This helps us feel less alone and gives us the courage to find our own niche within the climate movement.
Join us, we have two more sessions remaining (you don’t need to have read the whole thing to join in, just the section we’re discussing). Our last two meetings will be 7pm on October 4th and 18th on Zoom. Register here!
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If you can’t attend, we truly hope you read this book to inspire a path forward to finding your place in the climate movement. The guidance and discussion questions for the book club were provided by the authors and are available here, so please consider starting your own “All We Can Save” Circle with friends, family and colleagues (there are even workplace-specific additional questions!) to build community around climate solutions and connect with others who care about our shared home on planet Earth.
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We need community and collaboration, we need to work together, and we need each other to make a difference! We hope All We Can Save can help you foster meaningful conversations and find your sense of direction in the climate movement.
by Nannette Trinkaus and Kate Trinkaus
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Nannette Trinkaus and Kate Trinkaus are current and former Sierra Club Connecticut Executive Committee members.