I can’t tell you how excited I've been to collect my copy of Is A River Alive? by Robert McFarlane from Atkinson-Pryce Books in Biggar. Rob McFarlane is one of my favourite authors, and I’ve been eagerly anticipating this book knowing I would feature it in our newsletter. Just the title—Is A River Alive?—had me buzzing with thoughts before I even opened the book. It’s such a thought-provoking question. I loved hearing that when Rob mentioned the title to his son, he replied, 'Duh, of course it’s alive. That’s going to be a really short book! I felt the same way at first but it made me wonder about what led me to that conclusion in the first place.
It brought to mind Robin Wall Kimmerer’s fantastic book, Braiding Sweetgrass, which I read back in 2017. She’s an ethno-botanist and a member of the Potawatomi Nation, and her insights about the ‘language of animacy’ really struck me. She points out that in Western culture, we tend to reserve personal pronouns like he and she for humans, while in her indigenous culture, it’s unthinkable to refer to plants and animals as ‘it.’ Kimmerer believes that treating nature as kin rather than objects can inspire us to protect our planet instead of exploiting it. If we start to see the natural world as family, our compassion for it grows, and it becomes so much harder to harm those we love.
I also thought about that groundbreaking ruling in New Zealand in 2017 when the Whanganui River was declared the first river in the world to have legal personhood. This amazing legislation gives the river its own rights and protections, allowing it to stand up against pollution and exploitation. The river can even be defended in court by its guardians, known as Te Pou Tupua. This incredible shift has inspired many others around the world to stand up for their rivers.
So you can imagine my delight when Rob McFarlane dives into both these ideas right from the start of his book! It was such a joy to feel like I was on the same page as him. But little did I know the beautifully intricate journey that awaited me. First, I was swept away to the stunning cloud forests of northern Ecuador, where rivers are threatened by gold mining. Then, I found myself in southern India, where dedicated folks are fighting to save struggling rivers, creeks, and lagoons. Finally, I travelled to northeastern Quebec, where the majestic Mutehekau—or Magpie River—is being bravely protected from drowning to death by damming.
This book has already received a lot of excellent reviews, and I have to share this great comment from another favourite author of mine, Rebecca Solnit. She describes McFarlane's work thus,
This book is itself a river of poetic prose, an invitation to get onboard and float through the rapids of encounters with places and people, the eddies of ideas, to navigate the resurgence of Indigenous worldviews through three extraordinary journeys recounted with a vividness that lifts readers out of themselves and into these waterscapes. Read it for pleasure, read it for illumination, and read it for confirmation that our world is changing in wonderful as well as terrible ways.
Reading this book has been more than just picking up another nature writing tome; it’s been like embarking on an adventure that flows through you, just like the rivers it so passionately defends.
