Liz Jensen's Blog

Book presentation by Andreas Malm and Wim Carton in discussion with Liz Jensen.

The world is exceeding the 1.5°C global warming limit, but what happens when these boundaries – set by the Paris Agreement – have been crossed? In the overshoot era, industries and states turn to new technologies that supposedly block sunlight and remove CO2.  Such techno-solutions are by no means safe; they come with immense risks and provide an excuse for those who would prefer to avoid limiting emissions in the pr...

This thriller brings Liz Jensen’s compelling novel to life with a truly talented cast led by the brilliant Ruth Madeley and India Amarteifio. The Rapture features two complicated and captivating characters, blended with a story of climate change, to create a gripping narrative and I can’t wait for BBC viewers to see it.

— Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama

The cast joining Ruth Madeley (Doctor Who, Then Barbara Met Alan) in new d...

The post Liz on Soultalk with Kisser Paludan appeared first on Liz Jensen.

Four years ago, I got the phone call that every parent dreads.

Without warning, my healthy 25-year-old son Raphaël – a wildlife biologist and ecological activist – had collapsed and died. The trauma catapulted me into a place of almost hallucinatory madness: a territory so tormenting, debilitating, and bleak that I couldn’t imagine how I’d mentally survive it, let alone find joy in the life that remained.

Catastrophes are radicalizing and transformative. You no longer see your life in the same w...

As a young mother, I was haunted by the terror that one day a child of mine would die. It took root after my first son was born, and by the time I was pregnant with my second, it was unbearable. Superstitiously terrified told that if I told anyone, it might come true, I kept it secret. But it was killing me. And then one day I cracked.

In another place and time, I might have gone to a village wise-woman, or a priest, or a shaman. Instead, I booked an appointment with a therapist.

“I’m going to l...

It’s the end of the 20th century and my elderly father, who is a violin-maker, has built a microcosmic world. The ark is a floating animal sanctuary, a larder, a breeding-ground, a time-capsule, a social science experiment, a panic-room – and a toybox. It’s a gift for my son , who is three. It has a white cabin complete with portholes, a red roof, and a yellow detachable gangplank. The flat-bottomed hull is yellow, with a line of blue waves to indicate the waterline. It’s unseaworthy, but  doesn...

I’m in an airport bar in Houston, Texas, and I’m falling apart. Three hours ago I was in a rented apartment researching a story I was working on. But now, suddenly, unthinkably, I’m on my way to South Africa, and I need a drink, urgently.

When the barman hands me my glass of Shiraz I fumble and drop it. It shatters on the floor, and everyone looks at me.

“I’m sorry,” I tell the barman him as he mops up the red stain. “My son just died.”

Back behind the bar, he pours me another glass.

“He’s calle...

On April the 10th Your Wild and Precious Life (Dit Vilde og Dyrebare Liv) is released in Denmark.

The post Your Wild and Precious Life (Dit Vilde og Dyrebare Liv) Danish release date appeared first on Liz Jensen.

Your Wild and Precious Life is now out on paperback in the UK. You can read more here.

The post Your Wild and Precious Life out on paperback in UK appeared first on Liz Jensen.

At the top of the list of impossible things I wanted in 2020, after my son Raphaël’s sudden death, was for him to reappear, alive. He’d tell us it was all a misunderstanding. The paramedics had managed to revive him after all, and he was going to continue the life as a son, a brother, a friend, a lover, an activist. Most of all, his mission to protect endangered wildlife wasn’t over. He was 25: it had just begun.

My second wish was to disappear, and escape from the hell of living in my own skin:...