Stories of Solastalgia
'When the land is sick, we are sick'
This book examines where land, territories and the human body are sites of simultaneous trauma and the ways in which different forms of ecological degradation unmoor us. Starting from solastalgia, a form of mental distress caused by environmental change and one's feelings of inability to prevent or reverse land sickness, the Land Body Ecologies collective present reflections from people living through environmental changes, and propose cultural rights and practices as a mechanism for survival, revival and healing.
Stories of Solastalgia is a book written by the Land Body Ecologies network as part of Lawrence Wishart’s new series on race, health and climate.
In Stories of Solastalgia we explore how political decisions and environmental policies often labelled as 'protection' or 'development' measures impact the well-being of land-dependent communities. Throughout history, from the colonial era to neo-colonial green energy projects, these decisions have sidelined and displaced Indigenous and land-dependant communities, leading to widespread ecological harm. Stories of Solastalgia celebrates other ways of knowing, from songs to recipes, photographs and how-to guides presenting a collection of reflections from people living through environmental change from across Sápmi, Uganda, Kenya, Thailand, India, and the Arctic.
Year: 2025
Published by Lawrence Wishart