Human/Nature On life in a wild world

A lyrical work of creative nonfiction, Human/Nature is an exploration of how and why we think about the natural world the way we do. Everything we think about nature is deeply cultural. And much of what we imagine is based on outdated, irrelevant, or out-of-place beliefs. How are these ideas affecting the way we live in the world, and do we have any hope of changing them? If you’ ve ever asked yourself whether humans are ruining nature, whether there’ s a better way for us to belong, or whether it’ s possible to love both the environment and your cat, you’ re not alone. This exquisite, contemplative book is for anyone who has ever wondered where they fit in the natural world.

Jane Rawson is the award-winning author of novels A History of Dreams, From the Wreck and A Wrong Turn at the Office of Unmade Lists, a novella, Formaldehyde, and the non-fiction book The Handbook: Surviving & living with climate change. You can read her essays in Living with the Anthropocene; Fire, Flood, Plague; and Reading like an Australian Writer. She has been the Environment & Energy Editor at The Conversation and the Communications Coordinator for the Tasmanian Land Conservancy and is currently the Managing Editor of Island magazine.

Introduction: On avoiding nature Not a eulogy: On resurrection and nostalgia Common catastrophes: On evolution and extinction Intelligent life: On minds and exceptionalism Innocence lost: On belonging and purity Body count: On care and killing Calculated risk: On fear and decay Postscript: On loving (all of) nature Further reading Acknowledgments Notes