FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE IN GENERAL NONFICTION WINNER OF THE NATIONAL OUTDOOR BOOK AWARD

Hailed as "deeply felt" (New York Times), "a revelation" (Pacific Standard), and "the book on climate change and sea levels that was missing" (Chicago Tribune), Rising is both a highly original work of lyric reportage and a haunting meditation on how to let go of the places we love. With every passing day, and every record-breaking hurricane, it grows clearer that climate change is neither imagined nor distant—and that rising seas are transforming the coastline of the United States in irrevocable ways.

In Rising, Elizabeth Rush guides readers through some of the places where this change has been most dramatic, from the Gulf Coast to Miami, and from New York City to the Bay Area. For many of the plants, animals, and humans in these places, the options are stark: retreat or perish in place. Weaving firsthand testimonials from those facing this choice—a Staten Islander who lost her father during Sandy, the remaining holdouts of a Native American community on a drowning Isle de Jean Charles, a neighborhood in Pensacola settled by escaped slaves hundreds of years ago—with profiles of wildlife biologists, activists, and other members of these vulnerable communities, Rising privileges the voices of those too often kept at the margins.

In a new afterword for the paperback edition, Rush highlights questions of storytelling, adaptability, and how to powerfully shift conversation around ongoing climate change—including the storms of 2017 and 2018: Hurricanes Harvey, Maria, Irma, Florence, and Michael. The book is a highly original work that combines lyric reportage and a haunting meditation on the need to let go of the places we love as climate change transforms the coastline of the United States in irrevocable ways.

The author guides readers through some of the most dramatically affected areas, from the Gulf Coast to Miami and from New York City to the Bay Area. In these places, the options for many plants, animals, and humans are stark: retreat or perish in place. Rush weaves together firsthand testimonials from those facing this choice, including a Staten Islander who lost her father during Sandy, the remaining holdouts of a Native American community on a drowning Isle de Jean Charles, and a neighborhood in Pensacola settled by escaped slaves hundreds of years ago. These personal accounts are woven together with profiles of wildlife biologists, activists, and other members of these vulnerable communities, giving voice to those too often marginalized.

In a new afterword, the author reflects on questions of storytelling, adaptability, and how to shift the conversation around ongoing climate change, including the powerful storms of 2017 and 2018 that devastated many coastal regions. Rising is a work that combines lyrical reportage and a poignant exploration of the need to let go of the places we love as the realities of climate change become increasingly undeniable and transformative.

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