Ripple - by William Powers (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Ripple: An Intimate Exchange of Urgency and Hope Between An Ecologist and His Daughter is a narrative of letters written by an ecologist dad to his daughter upon her coming-of-age. Drawing upon his personal history, family anecdotes, and shared memories, Powers envisions a path for humanity's reintegration with nature, and a chance to save the life force that runs through all of us. A story of separation has long gripped the human race: that people are separate-- with more advanced habitats, technologies, and values-- from our natural surroundings and fellow creatures. We have been told this story for generations. But as Powers watches his daughter approach adulthood, with all of society's expectations, he knows that the story we pass down has to change. In Ripple, he tells a different tale, one of community and family, inner wisdom, and shared existence within a living planet.

Review Quotes

"In an era of great cynicism and ecological calamity, Bill Powers offers a different, more positive future, based on a turn away from our dominating view of nature as separate from ourselves. In a series of letters to his eldest daughter as she turns fifteen . . . Powers shows how separation from nature, especially in the era of ubiquitous smart phones and social media, leaves youth all over the world confused, depressed, deeply anxious and even suicidal. His empathy shines through in every page. Young people need this book. We all do." --John de Graaf, filmmaker, activist, co-author of AFFLUENZA and What's the Economy for Anyway, and editor of Take Back Your Time

"This is a wise and wonderful story, gentle but demanding of us that we embrace our close kinship to wild things. Its wisdom is something I suspect you will want to share in your family and outside." --Gus Speth, former Dean, Yale School of the Environment

"Powerfully intimate and loving, these letters from a father to his daughter remind us what really matters on this earth--and one of those things is the connection we have to the beauty and meaning all around us in nature." --Bill McKibben, author of Here Comes the Sun

"We are glued to screens. We gulp bad news on our phones all day long. Thus we miss knowing ourselves as living beings on an infinitely vibrant planet. How do we find our way home? Through poignant letters to his daughter, Bill Powers tells of personal stories of his family and himself accommodating to the ideology of separation, and weaving these with teachings from history, biology, and regenerative practices. He is truthful, and tender, as he searches for stories to help his beautiful fifteen-year-old daughter find meaning, purpose and belonging in a life rooted in the rhythms of nature." --Vicki Robin, author of Your Money or Your Life

"Powers recognizes that sometimes asking the questions is more important than finding the 'right' answers." --Lester Brown, The Great Transition: Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy

About the Author

William Powers is an author, activist, and leading expert in deep ecology. He is a Senior Fellow at World Policy Institute, and he founded the Living Well Collaborative, supporting a new paradigm for healing the planet and nourishing community and economy at the local level. Powers has published five nonfiction books within the sustainability space, including DISPATCHES FROM THE SWEET LIFE (New World Library, 2018) and TWELVE BY TWELVE (New World Library, 2010), and his essays and commentaries on global issues have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, the Atlantic, and "Fresh Air."