The Story goes on…

Looking back on the book, I see it as an introduction to the reality of climate change, one that Squarzoni has made accessible to the public yet rooted in science. Like many other art forms surrounding climate change, this memoir is a call to action. Paralleling the account of the science was the personal journey of Sqaurzoni, one that complemented the accumulating knowledge and the realization of how grave the situation is. We as the readers mirror Squarzoni’s journey as we realize the gravity of what is before humanity.

The ending of the book isn’t really an ending at all, rather a starting point for the story of the climate movement to continue. As he writes on page 457, “the story isn’t over”, indicating that the gloom of the potential disasters of climate change has yet to be realized and that there is still much that can transpire between now and the future. Squarzoni is on his computer, just as he was at the beginning of the book, except this time so is his wife, and I think this is a key detail. It shows that now his wife is involved with the movement, and that he isn’t alone. Just convincing one person is a step in the right direction to solving the problem. Indeed, much of this closing section focused on the democratic and cooperative nature the movement will have to embody in order to be successful. It will demand collective action to avoid both the environmental consequences and the potential tyranny that we read about in Memory of Water. The ending shows that even after finishing the book there is still work to be done for Squarzoni, but there is hope now, albeit with some conditions. The image came to my mind in all the movies where a gate is being lowered and a person is running full speed towards it and does a diving roll to get under it just in time. This is what we face with climate change. Are we going to get under that gate in time or are we going to be trapped? Though the future may be uncertain, it has yet to be decided. The story is not over, not yet, the story goes on…