Life on the Rocks
Building a Future for Coral Reefs
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
FINALIST FOR THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER AND BOOKLIST
The story of the urgent fight to save coral reefs, and why it matters to us all
Coral reefs are a microcosm of our planet: extraordinarily diverse, deeply interconnected, and full of wonders. When they’re thriving, these fairy gardens hidden beneath the ocean’s surface burst with color and life. They sustain bountiful ecosystems and protect vulnerable coasts. Corals themselves are evolutionary marvels that build elaborate limestone formations from their collective skeletons, broker symbiotic relationships with algae, and manufacture their own fluorescent sunblock. But corals across the planet are in the middle of an unprecedented die-off, beset by warming oceans, pollution, damage by humans, and a devastating pandemic.
Juli Berwald fell in love with coral reefs as a marine biology student, entranced by their beauty and complexity. Alarmed by their peril, she traveled the world to discover how to prevent their loss. She met scientists and activists operating in emergency mode, doing everything they can think of to prevent coral reefs from disappearing forever. She was so amazed by the ingenuity of these last-ditch efforts that she joined in rescue missions, unexpected partnerships, and risky experiments, and helped rebuild reefs with rebar and zip ties.
Life on the Rocks is an inspiring, lucid, meditative ode to the reefs and the undaunted scientists working to save them against almost impossible odds. As she also attempts to help her daughter in her struggle with mental illness, Berwald explores what it means to keep fighting a battle whose outcome is uncertain. She contemplates the inevitable grief of climate change and the beauty of small victories.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ocean scientist Berwald (Spineless) blends memoir and science writing in this colorful look at the state of coral reefs. She writes of how, while diving, she was mesmerized by the reefs she encountered, imagining that "the sea gods and goddesses had conspired to mastermind a magnificent playground and then outfitted it in extraordinary décor." She soon began researching how reefs have been "assaulted by a host of environmental stresses," and met scientists, researchers, philanthropists, and filmmakers working diligently to restore them. She visits a conference in Florida, where a project to manipulate the climate over reefs via cooling or shading is pitched; visits a reef-restoration site in Sulawesi, Indonesia; and tours marine protected areas in the Dominican Republic. Along the way, Berwald weaves in stories of her daughter's anxiety and OCD and her own struggles with parenting: "I found that it was impossible to contemplate the sickness on the reef without also considering the growing sickness in another of my loves, this one in my own home." Indeed, she is reminded of her daughter through much of her research on reefs, making for moving dual story lines about health, healing, and hope. Nature-minded readers will find much to enjoy.
