Earth Day

I may write sweet and spicy romance stories full of sexy, strong, smart and (usually) supportive characters, but my true love affair in real life is with Nature.

Image by Casey Horner

Okay, I love my spouse and our little family too, but I can’t get enough of our gorgeous planet either and am all for celebrating the magnificence of the natural world as much as we can, which is part of why I love Earth Day. Someone told me once that Earth Day is just a made-up holiday – to which I replied that all the holidays are made up.

I mean, pretty much everything we believe and celebrate is made up when you think about it, but I digress.

The actual holiday itself may not have been around for a full century yet, but celebrating Nature and the incredible planet we call home is hardly new. It actually goes back millions of years (we’re talking paleolithic times). Many of today’s modern religions have their roots in worship of the land itself as well as the natural world’s denizens, cycles and seasons. And many of the traditions our current societies perpetuate originated in ancient ancestors making sense of their world and celebrating its beauty and provision.

I find that fascinating.

I’m not as fascinated by the way large sectors of our current civilization seem to be treating our beautiful planet though. In fact, I’m deeply saddened by the extractive nature and, in many cases, intentional disrespect and abuse many governments and other corporations seem to be keen on where nature is concerned. It’s like they’ve forgotten we’re all part of the same planet.

I’m not here to discuss that though. I believe in focusing on what we want more of in our world rather than bemoaning what’s not working (we already know it’s not working). I’m all-in on watering the seeds we actually want to see grow. So, I’m here on this Earth Day with some extra love for our incredible planet – this fabulously wacky and fiercely beautiful place we call home – and a few recommendations for sharing and appreciating Earth love.

For visual folks, I cannot recommend the docuseries Planet Earth, and The Blue Planet high enough. These, and other BBC Earth productions, are absolutely stunning. Incredible cinematography, beautiful narration, gorgeous music – definitely sharing the Earth love in a high-def, easily accessible, family-friendly format.

Image by Jeremy Bishop

Also family-friendly in the visual department, but not an officially educational piece, the Pixar film, Wall-E is a surprisingly poignant and thought-provoking “kids” movie that explores environmental themes (as well as consumerism and humanity’s relationship to technology) while delivering a sweet and enjoyable love story (between robots).

For readers, there are SO many options for fabulous books related to our planet, but I read one last year that stopped me in my tracks, so it’s landing here in my Earth Day book recs. Is A River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane is both breathtakingly beautiful and thought-provoking. He delves deep into the Rights of Nature as he explores the title’s question, and the journey to his conclusion is as powerful as the conclusion itself. I loved this book. I actually cried reading it, it was that beautiful. It’s rare for me to be so moved by a non-fiction book, but this one is definitely an exception, in all the best ways. Really, if you’re a nature and literature lover, you can’t go wrong with a Robert Macfarlane book in my opinion, but this one in particular is a gem.

Another book I adored that uplifts and celebrates nature while intersecting with our very modern lives is The Way of the Wild Soul Woman: 5 Earth Archetypes to Unleash Your Full Feminine Power by Mary Reynolds Thompson. Yes, another non-fiction book, but this one is something else entirely. Part eco-education, part feminist theory, part love letter to nature, but also part memoir and a guided journey through Earth as archetype and nature as language for introspection and self-expression. There is no way to read this book without encountering the fact that we ARE nature. And just like with Robert Macfarlane, I’ve not read a single thing by Mary Reynolds Thompson I haven’t loved.

And to round out the nature love book recs, you can’t go wrong with Robin Wall Kimmerer either. Her work is accessible, yet profound, and a gorgeous intersection of botany, biological science, and Indigenous wisdom. I read The Service Berry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer last summer and I’m honestly still thinking about it. Beautiful prose, and gorgeous illustrations (by John Burgoyne), but truly, it’s the exploration of the natural world’s relationship to itself – and our place in it – that blew my mind. The reciprocity in nature, the interconnectedness, the undiluted gratitude. I see even my own back yard in a different light since reading this book. It may be a quick read, but it’s an impactful one.

If you read any of these (or have already read them), I’d love to hear your thoughts – hit me up via email (sarah@sarahdinan.com) or DM me on Instagram (@thesarahdinan) and let me know how these landed with you. And if you have any eco-love recommendations for me, I’d love to know.

Here’s to celebrating our beautiful planet, and to keeping it (and in turn ourselves) amazing and alive. Happy Earth Day!