All We Can Save is a 2020 collection of essays and poetry edited by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Dr. Katharine Wilkinson and published by One World.[1] The collection sets out to highlight a wide range of women's voices in the environmental movement, most of whom are from North America.[2][3] The book represents a wide range of essays, and creative works by over 50 women involved in climate change activism, science, and policy.[2][4][5][6]
All We Can Save focuses on building a feminine and feminist voice in the climate movement.[4][7] Many commentators focused on the broad range of perspectives included in the book.[4] Sierra magazine commentator Wendy Becktold called the book a "big tent" and "grab bag" approach to communicating the climate crisis—one that "feels like just what we need right now.”[2] Rolling Stone’s Phoebe Neidl said the book was “a feast of ideas and perspectives, setting a big table for the climate movement, declaring all are welcome.”[5]
Johnson and Wilkinson decided to create the anthology while attending a conference where the conversation was dominated by white male voices,[8] with the aim of highlighting the breadth and diversity of climate leadership.[8]
The book’s title was inspired by the closing stanza of Adrienne Rich’s poem “Natural Resources”.[9][10]
"My heart is moved by all I cannot save: so much has been destroyed I have to cast my lot with those who age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world."
"My heart is moved by all I cannot save:
so much has been destroyed
I have to cast my lot with those
who age after age, perversely,
with no extraordinary power,
reconstitute the world."
Reception was broadly very positive, listing the book on a number of best seller and "best of 2020" lists.[11] Smithsonian magazine named it one of the top 10 best science books for 2020.[12] Wendy Becktold from Sierra magazine positively reviewed the book "All We Can Save is a powerful tool because it articulates and holds space for this complexity."[13] Ms. magazine reviewer Sarah Montgomery focused on the urgency of the collection in light of the climate crisis, calling it a "sorely needed glimmer of hope—a reminder that there is a way out of this mess: collective action."[7] The book was featured in numerous nonfiction best sellers lists, including the Los Angeles Times,[14] The Washington Post,[15] and Porchlight Books.[16]
Among the readers of the book are many notable women leaders, including Roxane Gay, Jane Fonda, Emma Watson, and Maria Papova.[17][18][19][20] The book was featured in many publications with interviews from Johnson and Wilkinson, including The Today Show, The Washington Post, Time magazine, and Democracy Now!.[21][9][22][23]
Authors contributing to the book include:[24]
Narrators of the audiobook include:[25]
Alongside the publication of All We Can Save in 2020, Wilkinson and Johnson co-founded The All We Can Save Project,[21] which is an independent operating project of the umbrella nonprofit organization Multiplier.[26] Its mission is to nurture the “we” for all we can save and a "leaderful" climate community to grow a life-giving future.[27]
The All We Can Save Project provides open-source resources to support engagement with All We Can Save, including a self-led reading group model called All We Can Save Circles,[28][29][30] resources for educators teaching the anthology,[28][31] and resources for working with climate emotions.[32]