Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Jonica Newby, NewSouth Books, $29.99.
‘A journey of love, snow, fire and an enchanted beer can’ is an intensely personal quest that “became this book”. It was a trigger, the incident that compelled Jonica.
Reality outstripped imagination as her family was swept up in the apocalyptic 2019-20 fires. The theme of “how we deal emotionally with the climate-induced changes ahead, could not have become more starkly, viscerally relevant”.
After researching what global warming will do to the snow country she loves, Newby plummeted into a state of profound climate grief. If she was struggling, how was everyone else coping?
There was grief about climate. “In another year of floods and droughts and other climate disasters, had Australians really against taking any meaningful action on climate?” Award-winning science reporter Newby has gone through a rollercoaster of feelings. “Anger, denial, depression, hope, more anger, sadness, determination. I’ve had to develop some of my own tools for living well while navigating profound emotions about the climate emergency.”
How do we find courage when climate change overwhelms us emotionally? Newby explores how to navigate the emotional turmoil of climate change. Beyond Climate Grief provides guidance and emotional sustenance to help prop up courage for the reservations ahead.
It features illuminating conversations with singer–songwriter Missy Higgins, comedians Charlie Pickering and Craig Reucassel and business leader Mike Cannon-Brookes, practical advice from psychological and scientific experts and incredible accounts from everyday heroes.
It reminds us of the love, beauty and wonder in the world, even amidst disaster.
