Attuning

by John Popielaski

A construction project threatens to carve a 220-mile walled corridor through the heart of central Maine’s woods and wetlands, destroying vital habitats and siphoning billions of gallons of water. The project manager, Harold Brown, is poised to break ground.

Opposing him are Chris Atwater, a pragmatic non-profit coordinator working within the system, as well as Albert Lesiak and AJ Blasius, self-styled earth warriors who prefer direct action. Their conventional efforts seem doomed to fail—until Cosme Esperanza arrives.

A mysterious healer hiking the Appalachian Trail, Cosme tells them there may be a way to render Harold more receptive to the voices of the earth, and they dare to think there may be hope for humans yet.

210 pages, Paperback

Published December 4, 2025

About the author

John Popielaski is the author of several poetry collections, including most recently That Special Something from Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, as well as Attuning, a novel from Broken Tribe Press. His poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in such journals as Canary, Cutleaf, Gramercy Review, and Public School Poetry.

Reviews

[William Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attuning has it all. Ecofiction with adventure and emotion, Attuning takes us through a realistic story of typical destruction but gives us something to hang on to. In these dark times, we need a book like this to raise us up. John Popielaski is a master writer and I can't wait to read more from him.