Mossback: Ecology, Emancipation, and Foraging for Hope in Painful Places

Pritchett, who works in emergency medicine, debuts with an eclectic collection of essays on racism, colonialism, and the environment. Detailing his travels to places “human culture has not conquered,” including Death Valley, the Ozarks, and Mount Hood in Oregon, Pritchett uses “myth, memory, history, and ecology” to outline “ways of seeing the world” that privilege ecological and social justice. He recounts visiting Dismal Swamp on the Virginia–North Carolina border and encourages readers to take inspiration from “mossbacks” (Confederate draft dodgers who hid in the swamp), extolling the idea of people who move so slowly moss grows on them as a metaphor for achieving symbiosis with nature. Describing hiking Mount Kilimanjaro, Pritchett grapples with colonialism’s impact on the region while reflecting on growing up as the son of American missionary parents in Kenya. He provides an account of tending an Indiana farm in 2012 and praises the Potawatomi practice of “shared diplomacy,” which views flora and fauna as “nations” to maintain good relationships with. The history successfully illuminates alternative ways of relating to the natural world, but this outing sometimes suffers from a meandering focus and imprecise language (Pritchett promises to “offer insights into our situation” without specifying which situation he’s referring to). Still, this winding trail leads to some worthwhile insights. (Mar.)