A beautifully written, immediately engaging book about exploring a new area of the Antarctic, experiencing climate change on a vast yet immediate scale, and still deciding to bring a child into the world. The author pulls from her experiences as an observer on an exploration vessel to chart a path into the future. Excerpts from her interviews with others aboard the ship – scientists, but also the crew and even the ship’s cooks – bring multiple perspectives into her musings on everything from the breaking ice to birth stories. While the themes of the book are urgent, the messages are hopeful: while there is work for everyone, together, we can accomplish more; and when we mess up, which we all do, own the error and don’t make the same mistake again.
The Quickening by Elizabeth Rush, (List Price: 30, Milkweed Editions, 9781571313966, August 2023)
Reviewed by Ginger Kautz, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina