Terry Tempest Williams’ 22nd book, “The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary,” is a lesson of what our world of 8 billion people need during this time of upheaval. She began her latest work during the COVID-19 pandemic when all the world was impacted by this novel, uncaring, random force of death.
Williams lives in Utah and is a passionate environmental activist. Her husband, Brooke, is also a writer and advocates for the wild world and conservation. She is currently a writer in residence at Harvard’s Divinity School, where she has taught for almost 10 years.
As she opens “The Glorians,“ Williams was waiting to return to Utah from Boston at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
The virus has upended the entire world, and she is headed home to isolate with her husband, cats, dog and the desert she loves.
Williams and her Mormon family have a history of having dreams. So her dream in the desert is not totally unexpected but it is surprising. In her dream, she is back at Harvard. It is fall in all its glory; the leaves are wearing their bright colors. She ascends a spiral staircase and encounters a female professor with female students. The professor asks if Williams remembers her vow. She is reminded that she is to create the Epic Documentation of the Glorians. Then she awakes.
The book is part essay and personal memoir. Williams is gifted with sensory hyper-awareness of the natural world, the landscape and all its creatures. Her knowledge of birds is especially impressive. Her attention to her surroundings is a lesson for others. In these troubling times of climate chaos, social change and conflict, it can be healing to look outward at our imperiled environment to appreciate our shared world.
Williams’ words are deeply personal as she shares stories of loss and joy. The losses include the killing of fellow writers, one from Ukraine, murdered by a Russian missile, and another by illness. Then there is the slow death of the Great Salt Lake by drought and the killing of the massive red oak Divinity Tree at Harvard. The joys occur after Brooke not only survives but flourishes after open heart surgery, and then there is the total eclipse shared with her son and grandchildren.
This book is a gift from Williams, as she uses her lyrical words to inspire others to engage with both inner and outer worlds. She emphasizes that all creatures, the natural world and humans are all connected. All must work together to survive this mortal coil. After recognizing our issues, we must go further. Restoration needs to be made to cool our warming planet for the generations yet to come.
“The Glorians” is a beautiful read with a wake-up call for awareness and action.
Leslie Doran is a retired teacher and freelance writer.