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Top 5 books about climate grief, chosen by Aerth author Deborah Tomkins

Fiction that addresses anxieties and reflections on climate grief

Award-winning author Deborah Tomkins writes about the twin emergencies of climate breakdown and ecological destruction in her ‘climate fiction’ novels. Here are her top five books that deal with climate grief. 

Climate Grief by Shawna Weaver

A great overview and astute analysis by a psychologist of the growing phenomenon of climate grief. I think many people who are concerned about climate change will recognise their own situations.

Clade by James Bradley

A story set over several decades, in which people try to live normal lives against a backdrop of increasingly dramatic climate events, with strong themes of grief and loss. Beginning in the realist tradition, the story becomes increasingly speculative by the end. 

The End We Start From by Megan Hunter

A haunting story, told in fragments, of a couple with a newborn who have to evacuate their London home due to flooding. It swiftly becomes the mother and baby’s story, as the father goes missing. Its bewildering intensity mirrors the mother’s experiences.

Read more:

Like There’s No Tomorrow by Frances Ward

A narrowboat journey combined with deep reflection from a senior priest in the Church of England. Does God love Earth? And how should the church respond? Lament and “fierce hope”.

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Earth Shattering EcoPoems by Neil Astley

There is lament and climate grief in these carefully selected poems, but mostly deep love, for you only grieve what you love. Poetry from many nationalities and eras, plus short essays. 

Aerth(Weatherglass Books, £10.99) and The Wilder Path(Aurora Metro Books, £11.99) by Deborah Tomkins are out now

Some of these titles are available to buy from the Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support the Big Issue and independent bookshops.

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