Rating: 4 out of 5

As with any compendium of writing there are some essays I loved and some that didn’t speak to me. I did appreciate them all and understand them to be coming from a point of view that isn’t mine - I’ve only felt nervous of the outdoors due to my gender, not due to the colour of my skin. These essays cover a wide range of topics. The back of the book says “this moving collection considers climate justice, neurodiversity, mental health, academia, inherited histories, colonialism, whiteness, music, hiking and so much more.”

One essay in particular I made notes from, an essay titled “The nature of white sustainability” by Sharon Dhaliwal

“The responsibility lies on the shoulders of the conglomerates that control our consumption, and the way in which the products are sourced. Our individual footprint is small, but its a footprint that doesn’t exist until we make it. The more we make, the more our land and people benefit. But we can’t ignore the fact that substantial change is done through trade policies, governments and business reparations. They have moved the guilt onto us. ‘Why don’t you recycle, why do you eat meat, how can stand to buy such cheap outfits/fast fashion??’

The reality is, we can only recycle in the areas we live in, with the access we have. Meat is consumed sustainably by Indigeous people - so being vegan isn’t righteous, it’s simply an easier solution to unethical production. Sustainable clothing is regulated to a certain class - to those who can afford it, but wealth should not determine how economical we can be.

But there are ways that we can be sustainable, ethical, environ-mental: acknowledge our proximity to whiteness, privilege, and how our choices are still participating in elements of neocolo-nialism. Whose lands are still being stripped? Whose labour is being abused? Is whiteness still profiting from it? When I ask myself these questions, I find I’m on a more secure footing with my actions.”

Originally posted to my Goodreads account