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

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Origins

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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

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Reception

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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

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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

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Authors contributing to the book include:[24]

Audiobook narrators

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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

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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

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  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. 14 January 2022. 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. 23 September 2021. 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.
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