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stlake's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Beautiful. An invitation and a gift.
I am going to recommend it to my college students— and to survivors in my life.
It contributes to an emergent Black future that is committed to the natural “past” and a decolonized method of understanding one another as creatures of a common demand from our bodies: breathe. No matter the harsh environment— you must figure out how to keep breathing. It is a Marine biology for how to live.
I think it is also a work of eco feminist Theology.
I am going to recommend it to my college students— and to survivors in my life.
It contributes to an emergent Black future that is committed to the natural “past” and a decolonized method of understanding one another as creatures of a common demand from our bodies: breathe. No matter the harsh environment— you must figure out how to keep breathing. It is a Marine biology for how to live.
I think it is also a work of eco feminist Theology.
undercoverfeesh's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I think this book is best viewed as a series of meditations that a person can sit with over a longer period of time. When I was really feeling the text, it read like spoken word or a witch's spell being cast over me. When I wasn't, I had a difficult time focusing and had to keep drawing my attention back to the book. I feel like there are more layers to peel back, and definitely felt like I was missing key social history that might have made this a fuller read. Still, when I connected with the prose, it was lovely.
savaging's review
5.0
I came to this book with some skepticism. Sometimes I get excited about books like this only to discover that they've taken simplified factoids about other species and turned them into just-so stories that continue to center humans. But then I read this and -- I'll be honest -- cried at every page.
What makes this book work is that Gumbs is paying close and respectful attention to other species. She usually doesn't generalize them, romanticize them, or twist them into lessons. Yes, there are a few moments that feel a little like a stretch (a school of fish doesn't really have anything to do with human educational institutions, for instance). But fundamentally Gumbs is here to express gratitude and love for other kinds of beings. We have things to learn from all of them, but they aren't here for us.
And I just appreciate reading someone who can care about human justice and the well-being of other species at the same time. Often when I'm reading about problems and solutions, I feel like I have to turn off half of my heart. It was good to be whole-hearted for a while here with this book.
I do recommend only reading a bit at a time.
What makes this book work is that Gumbs is paying close and respectful attention to other species. She usually doesn't generalize them, romanticize them, or twist them into lessons. Yes, there are a few moments that feel a little like a stretch (a school of fish doesn't really have anything to do with human educational institutions, for instance). But fundamentally Gumbs is here to express gratitude and love for other kinds of beings. We have things to learn from all of them, but they aren't here for us.
And I just appreciate reading someone who can care about human justice and the well-being of other species at the same time. Often when I'm reading about problems and solutions, I feel like I have to turn off half of my heart. It was good to be whole-hearted for a while here with this book.
I do recommend only reading a bit at a time.
claudemoore's review
4.75
i’ve never quite read a book like this, i was confused by the marine mammal metaphors at first but i think this book and its lessons and meditations are going to stick with me for a very long time