Remnants: Reveries of a Mountain Dweller

by Natalie Virginia Lang MA

With stunning clarity, thoughtful meditation, and Walden-eque prose, Natalie Virginia Lang invites readers to join her in reexamining our relationships to the natural world.

In Reveries of a Mountain Dweller , writer and educator Natalie Virginia Lang offers a vision of Sumas Mountain throughout the seasons to expose the impact of toxic progress on Place. Through poetic prose, Lang meditates on the social, historical, cultural, and environmental losses suffered at the hands of infringement upon natural areas. Remnants ventures into the natural spaces on Sumas Mountain, illuminating the errors of the modern colonial approach to progress and posing philosophical queries for alternate pathways into the future. With whimsical descriptions and close encounters with creatures, forests, and climate change, Lang brings us an embodied experience of nature and bridges the gap between science, philosophy, academic theories, and the social sphere. Remnants offers a shift in the way environment is perceived and celebrates the value of interconnected relationships with and within ecosystems. The result is a fresh lens through which to see our relationship with that natural world, one that inspires us to join an ever-growing conversation about finding balance with our environment, even in the midst of growth.

240 pages, Paperback

Published June 13, 2023

Reviews

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since this book has no reviews yet, I thought I would write my own! 😊 I was drawn to this book because it is local, specifically about Sumas Mountain in Abbotsford, BC, nature, and colonization. It is split into 4 seasons and focuses on the year 2021. The author is white and I empathized with the tensions she brought up about being a settler and participating in colonization, but also having a deep connection with this place and yearning to understand and learn from place. While I quickly glossed over many detailed descriptions of nature, a lot of vivid images stuck with me and I was left with many questions. This book left me with a feeling of dread but also hope. I would categorize it as poetic environmentalist philosophy, if that is a category. Decent read and thought provoking, but not my favourite. Was hard to pick up and I skimmed a lot.

[Mags L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful imagery mixed with a deep contemplation of self and place, Remants is a wonderfully meditative read. The poetic language calls the reader to stop and dig into the vingette style memoir, asking the audience to find their own truth in the face of the complexity of ecological uncertainty, indigenous reconciliation, and other cultural contexts. As with many ecological centered narratives, the rich descriptions of place are dense and lush with key details.

Best enjoyed with an open, contemplative heart.

[Tamara Campo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. The history of sumas mountain was very interesting as well as the author's take on living on the mountain