the Spirited Book Club welcomes author Larry Rasmussen to discuss his new book, ‘The Planet You Inherit’
In “The Planet You Inherit: Letters to My Grandchildren when Uncertainty’s a Sure Thing” author Larry L. Rasmussen shares for the first time ever, love letters consciously written by elders of one geologic epoch to the young of another.
BOOK OVERVIEW
Our children’s and grandchildren’s generation will face a different world, one affected by climate instability, mass uncertainty, and breathtaking extinction. In fact, the next generation will face the reality that human activity is changing the planet from one geological epoch to another.
From this vantage point–two generations across two geological epochs facing a fundamentally changing planet–Larry Rasmussen writes to his grandchildren. As a grandfather invested in a green earth and climate justice as well as a scholar of faith-based earth ethics, Rasmussen bridges this gap between generations to write to the future about climate change, global citizenship, democracy, and legacy. In topics ranging from “A Viable Way of Life” and “Democracy” to “Where We’ve Come From” and “Who We Are Now,” Rasmussen explores the large questions of justice, meaning, and faith, encouraging us to speak to and look to the future generation and their future world.
Foreword by Terry Tempest Williams.
An Inside Look at The Planet You Inherit: Letters to My Grandchildren When Uncertainty’s a Sure Thing
Excerpt from letter 1: Epoch Times
What I most want for you and your baby brother is that you let yourselves be overwhelmed by wonder and lose yourselves in the “kaleidoscope of creation”—not to escape this harsh world but to better inhabit it. Wondering is a way of experiencing truth. Of course, you should follow science fiercely. Yet rational analysis can miss the most essential things of life, which are bonds of love and belonging. And they are most at home in the wonder and awe that lead to knowing deeper and caring more.
Larry L. Rasmussen’s The Planet You Inherit from Broadleaf Books includes letters to his grandchildren, such as:
- Tender Years
- Love in a Time of Plague
- The Kindness of Microbial Strangers
- We/They R Us
- What’s in a Name if the Name is God?
- Democracy Endangered
- Leaving a Legacy
Listen on Audible, narrated by Kyle Tait.
Reviews
“These ruminative letters resound with pathos and hope.” —Publishers Weekly
“There’s real wisdom in this book, not just for the next generation but for those of us making the decisions right now. Those of us of a certain age have a very real responsibility to do everything we can to pass on a working planet to those who come after!” –Bill McKibben, Schumann Distinguished Scholar, Middlebury College, and author of The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened
“The relationship between generations, especially between grandparent and grandchild, is essential to the path ahead. The open-eyed wonder of childhood, in tandem with age’s studied wisdom, is exactly what we need. The Planet You Inherit models the way forward for us all. It is a book of extraordinary hope in a time of urgent need.” –John Philip Newell, author of Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul
“Larry Rasmussen has written a wise and compassionate book, precisely the sort of book our Anthropocene world needs. Don’t let the title fool you. This is a book for young people, but it is also for all adults who now (and quickly) need to learn the art of becoming good ancestors.” —–Norman Wirzba, Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Theology, Duke University, and author of This Sacred Life
“Larry Rasmussen is one of the few great Christian ethicists of the last half-century. This profound and powerful text to the younger generation is a gem!” —Cornel West, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Professor of Philosophy and Christian Practice, Union Theological Seminary
CLUB DISCUSSION dates
BOOK CLUB meets Thursdays, August 10 & 24 @ 2:00 – 3:00 pm AZ (PDT)
- For August 10: Read Chapters 1-5 (and exercises)
- For August 24: Read Chapters 6-10 (and exercises)
++Book discussion facilitated by Sheri Brown
About the author
Larry L. Rasmussen, a renowned Christian environmental ethicist, is Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics, emeritus, at Union Theological Seminary. He is the author of Earth Community, Earth Ethics; winner of the Grawemeyer Award; and a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Christian Ethics. He has mentored a generation of scholars in eco-theology and green religion, rooted in practices of environmental justice within community contexts. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Terry Tempest Williams has been called “a citizen writer,” a crucial voice for ecological consciousness and social change. She is the author of Refuge, Red and The Hour of Land, among others and is the recipient of numerous awards. Read more here.
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