Seven titles to read when the world is on fire

Sari Fordham is a writer, professor, and environmental activist. Committed to being kind to the earth, Sari writes a free monthly newsletter, "Cool It: Simple Steps to Save the Planet.” Each newsletter focuses on practical actions we can take for a more sustainable planet.

Fordham has lived in Uganda, Kenya, Thailand, South Korea, and Austria. She has a BA from Southern Adventist University, an MA from Iowa State University, and an MFA from the University of Minnesota.

Fordham teaches creative nonfiction at SUNY Oswego and lives in upstate New York with her husband and daughter.

Wait for God to Notice, a memoir about her childhood in Uganda, is her first book.

At Electric Lit Fordham tagged "seven books to read that offer a sustainable path forward." One title on the list:

Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille T. Dungy

In Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden, Camille T. Dungy addressed the first Trump presidency, writing, “In the months after the 2016 presidential election, I often found myself in the company of people, almost always white, who said, ‘This is all so surprising. This isn’t who America is!’ ... But I was not shocked. For quite some time–since the beginning, really–Black Americans have pointed out that ‘this’ is actually happening.”

It is now 2025 and “this” is still happening, but even more egregiously. Soil expands the definition of nature writing, inviting in those—such as mothers—who have been excluded from the genre. She is mindful of her readers’ mundane responsibilities because she, too, has to wash the dishes. As Dungy nurtures her garden, pulling up bindweed and growing native plants, she contends with both a pandemic and racism. She weaves these lived experiences together into a book that is wise and sustaining, and through it, she shows us the work we must undertake to create a better future.

Read about the other books on Fordham's list at Electric Lit.

--Marshal Zeringue