Stories of Solastalgia

Stories of Solastalgia is a book written by the Land Body Ecologies network as part of Lawrence Wishart’s new series on race, health and climate.

 

In Stories of Solastalgia we explore how political decisions and environmental policies often labelled as 'protection' or 'development' measures impact the well-being of land-dependent communities. Throughout history, from the colonial era to neo-colonial green energy projects, these decisions have sidelined and displaced Indigenous and land-dependant communities, leading to widespread ecological harm. Stories of Solastalgia celebrates other ways of knowing, from songs to recipes, photographs and how-to guides presenting a collection of reflections from people living through environmental change from across Sápmi, Uganda, Kenya, Thailand, India, and the Arctic. 

 

We invite readers to experience the book as they choose. It can be read linearly, in regular chapter sequence, according to geography, or dropped into at random. A plurality of voices, textures and styles expressing solastalgia is used, from different languages and styles of writing, to sounds of more-than-human beings.

 

Some of the texts are composed of live and unrehearsed recordings of dialogue with a choice to retain the original voice and rhythms of speech, including moments of repetition, hesitation and silences, is deliberate; it intends to capture the pauses and unfinished thoughts intrinsic to the informal retelling of lived experiences.

 

Read more about environmental change impacts in Stories of Solastalgia. Order your copy now.

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Published by Lawrence Wishart.