Believers: Making a Life at the End of the World
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- Create Date：2021-08-20 03:18:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Lisa Wells
- ISBN：0374110255
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Summary
"An essential document of our time。" —Charles D’Ambrosio， author of Loitering
In search of answers and action， the award-winning poet and essayist Lisa Wells brings us Believers， introducing trailblazers and outliers from across the globe who have found radically new ways to live and reconnect to the Earth in the face of climate change
We find ourselves at the end of the world。 How， then， shall we live？
Like most of us， Lisa Wells has spent years overwhelmed by increasingly urgent news of climate change on an apocalyptic scale。 She did not need to be convinced of the stakes， but she could not find practical answers。 She embarked on a pilgrimage， seeking wisdom and paths to action from outliers and visionaries， pragmatists and iconoclasts。 Believers tracks through the lives of these people who are dedicated to repairing the earth and seemingly undaunted by the task ahead。
Wells meets an itinerant gardener and misanthrope leading a group of nomadic activists in rewilding the American desert。 She finds a group of environmentalist Christians practicing “watershed discipleship” in New Mexico and another group in Philadelphia turning the tools of violence into tools of farming—guns into ploughshares。 She watches the world’s greatest tracker teach others how to read a trail， and visits botanists who are restoring land overrun by invasive species and destructive humans。 She talks with survivors of catastrophic wildfires in California as they try to rebuild in ways that acknowledge the fires will come again。
Through empathic， critical portraits， Wells shows that these trailblazers are not so far beyond the rest of us。 They have had the same realization， have accepted that we are living through a global catastrophe， but are trying to answer the next question: How do you make a life at the end of the world？ Through this miraculous commingling of acceptance and activism， this focus on seeing clearly and moving forward， Wells is able to take the devastating news facing us all， every day， and inject a possibility of real hope。 Believers demands transformation。 It will change how you think about your own actions， about how you can still make an impact， and about how we might yet reckon with our inheritance。
In search of answers and action， the award-winning poet and essayist Lisa Wells brings us Believers， introducing trailblazers and outliers from across the globe who have found radically new ways to live and reconnect to the Earth in the face of climate change
We find ourselves at the end of the world。 How， then， shall we live？
Like most of us， Lisa Wells has spent years overwhelmed by increasingly urgent news of climate change on an apocalyptic scale。 She did not need to be convinced of the stakes， but she could not find practical answers。 She embarked on a pilgrimage， seeking wisdom and paths to action from outliers and visionaries， pragmatists and iconoclasts。 Believers tracks through the lives of these people who are dedicated to repairing the earth and seemingly undaunted by the task ahead。
Wells meets an itinerant gardener and misanthrope leading a group of nomadic activists in rewilding the American desert。 She finds a group of environmentalist Christians practicing “watershed discipleship” in New Mexico and another group in Philadelphia turning the tools of violence into tools of farming—guns into ploughshares。 She watches the world’s greatest tracker teach others how to read a trail， and visits botanists who are restoring land overrun by invasive species and destructive humans。 She talks with survivors of catastrophic wildfires in California as they try to rebuild in ways that acknowledge the fires will come again。
Through empathic， critical portraits， Wells shows that these trailblazers are not so far beyond the rest of us。 They have had the same realization， have accepted that we are living through a global catastrophe， but are trying to answer the next question: How do you make a life at the end of the world？ Through this miraculous commingling of acceptance and activism， this focus on seeing clearly and moving forward， Wells is able to take the devastating news facing us all， every day， and inject a possibility of real hope。 Believers demands transformation。 It will change how you think about your own actions， about how you can still make an impact， and about how we might yet reckon with our inheritance。
Reviews
Marianne
，
Love this book's narrative voice which carried me through with great assurance and openheartedness。 Information conveyed is also very worthwhile。 Learned stuff， felt stuff。 （I read an advance reading copy of this book， which I received from its publisher。） Love this book's narrative voice which carried me through with great assurance and openheartedness。 Information conveyed is also very worthwhile。 Learned stuff， felt stuff。 （I read an advance reading copy of this book， which I received from its publisher。） 。。。more
Jacob Wren
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A few passages from Believers:*One of the ways we humans organize and make sense of our experience is through the telling of stories。 And the stories we tell， in turn， have profound effects on how we relate to ourselves and to those entities on which our lives depend。 Many of us are learning that the stories we inherited are not only suspect but in large part responsible for the threats we now face and will visit upon our heirs: the story of infinite growth， of survival of the fittest; the story A few passages from Believers:*One of the ways we humans organize and make sense of our experience is through the telling of stories。 And the stories we tell， in turn， have profound effects on how we relate to ourselves and to those entities on which our lives depend。 Many of us are learning that the stories we inherited are not only suspect but in large part responsible for the threats we now face and will visit upon our heirs: the story of infinite growth， of survival of the fittest; the story of human supremacy， and， incongruously， an innate human selfishness and propensity to destroy。 Chiefly， the story that tells us that we are separate from the whole， at once alienated from the broader community of life and above its laws of ecological reciprocity。 New stories are in order， but often the dominant culture responds to the crisis at hand by replicating old themes。 Features about doomsday preppers， Silicon Valley tech bros with “go bags” and ATVs， million-dollar compounds in decommissioned missile silos in central Oklahoma （my particular vision of hell） – stories about life support systems devised to keep self-interested individuals alive while the rest of us burn。 Stories that are， of course， no deviation at all from the dominant narrative。 Perhaps the fullest expression of this lack of imagination is the techno-utopian dream of colonizing other galaxies， as if colonization wasn’t at the root of our trouble but its solution: the ultimate geographic cure。 Even if some eccentric but benevolent billionaire invented a machine to spirit the human race to outer space （big if）， it’s delusional to think we wouldn’t take our problems with us。It seems to me there is a surplus of terror and delusion in the ether， but spare few visions of how you and I， relatively ordinary people， might live otherwise。 I believe the future of the world depends on those visions。 If our descendants are alive and well in a hundred years， it will not be because we exported our unexamined lives to other planets; it will be because we were， in this era， able to articulate visions of life on earth that did not result in their destruction。*Put bluntly， one of the greatest barriers to realizing energy independence is our addiction to stuff – to having what we want whenever we want it。 It may be true， as Finisia and her crew sometimes said， that it’s easier to jump off a structure that is standing than a structure that is collapsing， but so long as the structure stands， most people will – in ignorance or out of fear or habit – return to its eaves when the rain arrives。 This is why some frustrated rewilders I’ve spoken to doubt very much that consciousness-raising will create lasting change。 Change will come when the collapse of our current way of life demands it。 Communal subsistence living inevitable results in periods of discomfort and strained relationships， and so long as warm beds and Netflix and grocery stores exist， most people will return to those comforts when the going gets tough。That’s why Peter believes social skills like cooperation and conflict management are far more crucial than the so-called hard skills of wilderness survival。 And that’s why Todd Wynward believes that that if it’s just up to us， we’re fucked， that spiritual conviction is required to bridge the divide。*“Attentiveness is the natural prayer of the soul，” wrote the seventeenth-century philosopher-priest Nicolas Malebranche。 If we believe him， it follows that whatever commands our attention will determine the form of our god。 If we mainly train our attention of the screens of our devices – that’s one kind of prayer。 If we train it on the dirt， or the birds， or the faces of those we love – that’s another。 Most of us run a gauntlet of rotating concerns， with little agency over the convulsions of our minds。 Or else we forgo agency entirely and remit our attention， via any number of substances， to a high。 In any case， our preoccupations become objects of worship。*Human beings are social animals， and it’s a central paradox of human life that other people should confront us with our most difficult problems while possessing our only hope for a solution。 “That’s life，” to quote Sinatra。 A cynic might call it pharmakon – we are， at once， each other’s poison， scapegoat and remedy。 However you want to cut it， we require other people to survive， to love， to be loved by， to reflect that we exist in time。 Or at least， we used to。In a technocentric society， isolation – or the illusion of isolation – is not only possible， it is increasingly unavoidable。 But for most of human history， isolation meant death; so human cultures， by necessity， developed ceremonies， laws， rituals， and stories to redress common conflicts that arise between people and to teach their members how to live in accord。 Metabolizing conflict while maintaining the bonds of the group was not so much a moral endeavor as a practical one。What becomes， then， of a people who invent a way to live without relying on others directly？ I think we’re finding out。As is true of other survival skills we’ve lost， social skills atrophy with disuse， and once our survival no longer depends on our togetherness， what impetus do we have to tolerate the conflict， confusion， and vulnerability that are the price of relationship？ I’m not certain that it’s possible to sustain communalism long-term based on ideas alone。 So long as there exists a more comfortable world to defect to – even if that world is laced with depression， anxiety， and isolation – we will be tempted to take the out。This goes for noncommunal endeavors as well。 Time and again I hear stories about idealistic people， wholly devoted to worthy causes， who wind up tearing one another apart over relatively minor disagreements before retreating to their former lives of quiet desperation。*I’m interested in the limit of forgiveness。 Where it is， and why， and how some people are able to forgive those who’ve done them the greatest harm， often when they haven’t earned it。Just reading reports from Standing Rock， I found my mind drifting into violent fantasy。 A part of me wanted the police and the corporate VPs and private security people to feel the pain they’d inflicted， to be hit with hoses in freezing temperatures， to have their snarling dogs turn against them – and it wasn’t my home that had been invaded。 This was a problem。 Not because violence isn’t warranted in defense of the planet but because the violent fantasies of a distant observer like me might serve a shadow purpose。If there is such a thing as evil， I presume Big Petroleum is high on the list。 But it’s a divided self who daydreams about eviscerating the hocks of an economy in which she participates。 And if those violent daydreams provide catharsis， if they serve to further distance her from her own culpability， to mutilate that which implicates her， and thereby help her dodge the imperative to effect material change – then aren’t those fantasies an extension of the evil at hand？ And so long as we’re at it， why not acknowledge that by she and her I mean me。 。。。more
Pamela
，
This is a powerful book。 One that is not about bemoaning the state of the Earth today， but instead on how we can heal， ourselves and the land。 Lisa Wells introduces us to several people who are living wildly， living to restore nature and some with unusual ways。 We are first introduced to Finisia Medrona who replants prairies and deserts with edible foods， who now has a group of followers。 Her group of “Prairie Faeries” or landtenders on occasion plant a hillside of edibles in the shape of letter This is a powerful book。 One that is not about bemoaning the state of the Earth today， but instead on how we can heal， ourselves and the land。 Lisa Wells introduces us to several people who are living wildly， living to restore nature and some with unusual ways。 We are first introduced to Finisia Medrona who replants prairies and deserts with edible foods， who now has a group of followers。 Her group of “Prairie Faeries” or landtenders on occasion plant a hillside of edibles in the shape of letters such as “This is food。” Finisia’s dedication to replanting is tied with religious overtones while spouting a foul mouth being quite cantankerous to outsides and those who live a “typical” western lifestyle。 She’s lived an itinerant lifestyle， for years living in a cave or traveled by covered wagon。 Starting the book with an outlier， it is a sharp awakening that there are other ways to live， or how to interact with the environment。 Much of the book is infused with religion， talk of healing ourselves from the trauma that has happened （something is wrong when we have so many people addicted to various vices）， and restoring nature。Wells interweaves her own personal story as well， leaving high school in Portland and along with her friends， joins a wilderness survival school。 Wells interlaces the people that shaped her life， important books such as Daniel Quinn’s book Ishmael， and her friends。 We are also introduced to many others， people who have done something radically different and have results that prove that the ecosystem can be restored， and at an amazingly fast pace。 This book is about people who believe that we can move beyond this current climate crisis， we have the ability to heal what is broken。 Wells shows us people who are doing just that。 ‘How， then， shall we live’ is asked many times。 Some answers are here。 It is a hopeful book， albeit not an easy read at times。 It can be eye-opening or maybe， world changing。 Thanks to Farrar， Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book。 。。。more
Lou
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