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, founder 350.org
RIPPLE is a book filled with graceful, engaging prose about
one of the most important issues of our time. 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 lettters to his eldest daughter as she turns 15,
Powers shares the wisdom of his remarkable life--the son of a
priest and a nun who married; Peace Corps and other service in
poverty-stricken countries; a decision to leave New York City
for a small town in rural Bolivia, where he has lived for more
than a decade, writing five books and teaching dozens of
international students. 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, author of Affluenza
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…
outside, in the open air.
Gus Speth, former Dean, Yale School of the
Environment and author of America the Possible