GO GENTLY READING AND CULTURE SUGGESTIONS
Every month we highlight what we’ve been viewing, reading and listening to in our Go Gently newsletter. In this article you will find an archive of the monthly musings we have suggested so far in 2024 for your ease and enjoyment.
MAY
Consumed by Aja Barber
For Earth Day this year I joined a giveaway with Meow Meow Tweet that featured this amazing book alongside Go Gently and The Overview by Willow Defebaugh. Consumed: The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change, and Consumerism by Aja Barber exposes the endemic injustices in our consumer industries, the uncomfortable confrontation of our collective “wanting more” and how you can reclaim your power in a consumer culture. READ HERE.
Feel Better Live More Podcast #440
Dr Gabor Mate: The 5 Life Lessons People Learn Too Late, Why We Should Stop Trying to Live Longer & How Curiosity Leads To Compassion, this episode was a fascinating listen. As we all are pushed to reevaluate ourselves in Spring its essential to seek happiness where we are right now rather than in a faraway goal post. If the pressure of constant improvement, consumption, and optimization have gotten the best of you, I highly recommend listening to this podcast. LISTEN HERE.
APRIL
The Amazon is A Woman from Atmos Magazine
For Earth month we looked at key change makers who are fighting to save the most biodiverse place on Earth, the Amazon Rainforest and the place they call their home. This article details the experience of the Indigenous Women who are most closely impacted by the violence being committed against the Amazon Rainforest. A heart wrenching read that reminds us how varied our human experiences are. The one thing that so closely connects all of us Earthlings? Our sense of home and the need to protect it. READ HERE.
Jane Goodall: Reasons for Hope
In honor of Dr. Jane Goodall’s 90th birthday, we highlighted her recent film, Reasons for Hope. Goodall’s decades of animal rights and conservation work has driven so many of us to join the climate movement and take actions of our own. This film showcases her four pillars of hope for the future; the amazing human intellect, the resilience of nature, the power of young people, and indomitable human spirit. WATCH HERE.
MARCH
A Philosophy of Walking by Frederic Gros
A Philosophy of Walking examines how history’s great minds have used walking as a tool to gather their thoughts. One practice I always aim to incorporate in the Springtime are mindful nature walks. Even if you are strolling in an urban area you can remind yourself to pay attention to the plants growing through the sidewalk, the colour of the sky that day, or the sounds of birds above you. Walking is an excellent tool to reconnect with ourselves and our surroundings, so I am excited to dive into this book. READ HERE.
We Are Antarctica from Earthrise Studio
We Are Antarctica is a film and campaign to educate and inspire change-seekers, young people, and leaders to forge a new relationship with nature. Uninhabitable to humans, yet impacted by every action we take, today Antarctica stands at a crucial crossroads. I highly recommend watching this short film to learn about how the stability of this fragile ecosystem impacts all life on Earth. WATCH HERE.
Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille T. Dungy
Poet and scholar Camille T. Dungy wrote Soil after a seven-year odyssey to diversify her garden in a town with strict restrictions on what residents could and could not plant. Dungy employs the various plants, herbs, vegetables, and flowers she grows in her garden as metaphors for how homogeneity threatens the future of our planet, and why cultivating diverse and intersectional language in our national discourse about the environment is the best means of protecting it. If you enjoy nature writing and climate justice, give Soil a read. READ HERE.
FEBRUARY
High on the Hog Documentary
High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America recently released their second season. Sharing stories of food, resistance, and legacy. In this documentary Stephen Satterfield explores the way food links African Americans across generations and also how African cuisine has shaped America’s culinary world. I look forward to watching this documentary and furthering my knowledge of Black history. WATCH HERE.
The Overview: Meditation on Nature for a World in Transition by Willow Defebaugh
The Overview is a new book written by one of my favourite writers, Willow Defebaugh. Willow is the co-founder and editor-in-chief at Atmos Magazine. The Overview is a collection of meditative essays that examine the wisdom of the Earth and its many teachers. I highly recommend reading this to anyone looking to explore new perspectives and tune into lessons from the natural world. READ HERE.
An Offering of Remembrance - a talk by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee
Emergence Magazine Podcast shared this episode with Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee where they discuss our primordial love and reciprocal care with the Earth that existed from the beginning. They pose the essential questions: “How can we place Earth back at the center of the story? What opens when love once again becomes present between us?” This episode is sure to tug on your heart strings as you reflect on your connection to this planet. LISTEN HERE.
JANUARY
Honeyland Documentary
The fascinating documentary, Honeyland, looks at the ancient, yet ever important, practice of beekeeping. This film follows Hatidze Muratova who lives a remarkable life dedicated to saving the bees and protecting the land she lives on and tends to. This is a fascinating documentary that gives you insight into another’s life, so different from our own you may feel like you’ve been transported to a different time. WATCH HERE.
Dr. Bayo Akomolafe on Slowing Down in Urgent Times by For The Wild Podcast
In this episode from the For The Wild podcast Dr. Bayo Akomolafe invites us to pause and abandon solutionism and take a step back from constant progress. Instead, their conversation supports the idea of slowing down and finding new rhythms in the way we respond to ecological crises. This podcast is an excellent reminder to go gently into this new year. LISTEN HERE.
Iwigara: American Indian Ethnobotanical Traditions and Science by
Iwigara by Enrique Salmon illustrates the belief that all life-forms are interconnected and share the same breath. Ethnobotanist Enrique Salmon builds on this concept of connection and highlights 80 plants revered by North America's indigenous peoples. This is a fascinating read helping us understand ancient ways of connecting with our local flora. READ HERE.
