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We Loved It All

A Memory of Life

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Acclaimed novelist Lydia Millet's first work of nonfiction is a genre-defying tour de force that makes an impassioned argument for people to see their emotional and spiritual lives as infinitely dependent on the lives of nonhuman beings. Drawing on a quarter-century of experience as an advocate for endangered species at the Center for Biological Diversity, Millet offers intimate portraits of what she calls "the others"—the extraordinary animals with whom we still share the world, along with those already lost. Humans, too, fill this book, as Millet touches on the lives of her world-traveling parents, fascinating partners and friends, and colorful relatives, from diplomats to nut farmers—all figures in the complex tapestry each of us weaves with the surrounding world. Written in the tradition of Annie Dillard or Robert Macfarlane, We Loved It All is an incantatory work that will appeal to anyone concerned about the future of life on earth—including our own.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from February 26, 2024
      Novelist Millet (Dinosaurs), also a creative director at the Center for Biological Diversity, ruminates in this profoundly affecting meditation on what it means to live through climate change. The narrative flows as if by instinct, moving from personal anecdotes to condemnations of corporate pollution to elegiac examinations of the havoc wrought by humans on the natural world, the organizing logic arising tacitly through suggestion and juxtaposition. In that vein, Millet’s admission of how she used to believe systemic explanations constituted attempts to evade personal responsibility leads into a discussion of how the mid-1970s “Crying Indian” anti-litter campaign redirected culpability from the companies selling single-use plastic products to consumers. Contemplations of mortality recur throughout, as when Millet writes “I fear that my children one day... will be forced to endure the vanishing of much more than we ever did” and discusses how the last Tasmanian tiger died in 1936 after “she was locked out of the warm part of her enclosure overnight in a cold snap and froze.” In scintillating prose, Millet makes a passionate case that humans must own up to their responsibilities to each other and the natural world (“Our coexistence has been, since forever, the backdrop of being. A dappled, shifting impression like the patterns of sun and shadows that fall across beds and ceilings and walls”). Mournful and piercingly beautiful, this will stick with readers long after they finish the last page.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Xe Sands narrates this meditative collection of essays on life and preserving our threatened planet. Provocative yet tender, each free- flowing essay provides a glimpse of Millet's interconnected world. Personal anecdotes are juxtaposed with deep pondering about humanity's role in climate change. Expertly pairing animal facts with thoughtful observations of the human world, Millet gently breezes over challenging topics such as religion, motherhood, colonization, and capitalism. Sands's calm, empathetic narration fits the quiet, introspective tone of the essays. Guiding listeners to personal contemplation, Sands's voice is soothing and slightly melodic. As though speaking directly to the listener, Sands captures Millet's unique approach to raising climate awareness. C.R. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

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  • English

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