A review by barefootmegz
A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis by Vanessa Nakate

2.0

I remember the day I first heard Vanessa Nakate’s name: the day she was cropped from a photo next to other young climate activists, and she decided not to let it slide. The backlash from that incident introduced the world to the reality of the many climate activists beyond Europe and the USA. It also brought home the fact that climate action must be intersectional to truly be relevant in our world.

A Bigger Picture is the book the world needs to see a more global picture of climate action. Its weakness lies in the fact that it is largely amorphous: now it is a memoir, now it is motivational; now it is a rallying cry for climate activism, now it is a treatise. While I’m not saying this can’t be done, I am saying that it needed to be restructured to be more impactful. While Nakate is clearly a formidable young woman, there are sections that required more depth and self-awareness.

Young people at the beginning of their activism journey will benefit greatly from A Bigger Picture, and the developed world will benefit from knowing - well, the bigger picture.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.