One More Question: Eco-Grief (Vol. 1)

What if, every so often, I did two posts in one week?

Oct 27, 2024

There was a time when everybody, myself included, had a blog. You remember blogs, right? Come to think of it, this is sort of a blog. Anyhow, I had this blog called Al Dente where I posted recipes1, beer and restaurant reviews, and my own meandering thoughts on everything and nothing. It’s still out there in bits and pieces.

I started it in 2011 and went big in 2014, getting my own webspace, URL and advertising deals. I had some influencer stuff going on. It was great, until it wasn’t. It started to feel like work.

It seems like forever ago that this was a thing…

For as long as I can remember, I’ve never been satisfied with just doing one thing. For a long time, while I was at my previous employer, I adjuncted at a local college. The money was nice and it scratched a creative itch for me...until it didn’t. Eventually it became more work than I wanted to do beyond my actual job2. (Also, my oldest had just been born and I couldn’t justify three nights out of the house each week to teach.)

Food makes me happy. Writing makes me happy. Writing about food makes me really happy. The blog came was my creative outlet. Until, of course, it wasn’t. I was reaching the point where I was doing way more work on the blog than I wanted to and with little to no return3. So, I shelved it in 2016. Right around the same time, an old editor of mine reached out and offered me a freelance gig reviewing restaurants for the local paper. Itch rescratched. That continues to be fun, as does Dirt Nap.

Maybe this extra stuff will feel like work one day, but they don’t right now so I’ll continue to ride the creative wave. And, in the case of Dirt Nap, I’m going to add more content.

One More Question…

Today is the first edition of One More Question, a Sunday supplemental edition that includes thoughts that didn’t make it into a previous Friday entry, updates on previous story topics, answers to questions I’ve received in the comments or social media, things I’ve read that you might enjoy…that sort of thing.

I’m going with One More Question because that’s what I asked Dr. Heidi Schreiber-Pan after she was the featured Q&A for the Oct. 18th edition. It stemmed from Dirt Nap subscriber Pat Zalewski, who left the following note in the comments:

As I read this week’s article, I couldn’t help but think of the victims of Helene in the mountains of North Carolina. The world they thought they understood has been shaken to the core. They likely can’t put a name to it (eco-grief) but they are feeling it deeply. How is that reality addressed as the region tries to recover?

It’s an interesting question because I conducted the Q&A with Dr. Schreiber-Pan a few weeks before Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The growing intensity of our weather has been subject of many media reports, but little has been discussed about resiliency solutions or emotional coping with the changing climate. So, I posed Pat’s question to Dr. Schreiber-Pan and here’s what she said:

Great question. Addressing eco-grief during recovery from hurricane destruction is vital, and it involves more than just rebuilding physical structures. It's important to create space for people to share their feelings of loss—whether it's mourning the damaged landscapes, displaced wildlife, or simply feeling disconnected from the nature they once knew. Emotional healing should be part of the recovery process, alongside rebuilding homes and communities. Bringing people together through community gatherings, offering mental health support, and acknowledging the emotional impact helps everyone process their grief together.

Another key part of recovery is giving people the chance to actively participate in restoring the environment. Inviting them to help with replanting efforts, conservation projects, or building more sustainable systems can be empowering. It helps them regain a sense of control and hope. Healing comes not just from restoring physical spaces, but from reconnecting with the land in ways that honor both the loss and the resilience needed to move forward.

Eco-Grief, Because The World's on Fire

Jared Paventi

Oct 18

Read full story

Dr. Heidi Schreiber-Pan is a certified nature-informed therapist who founded the Chesapeake Mental Health Collaborative in suburban Baltimore. She is also the author of three books.

If you are interested in supporting relief efforts for those affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, there are plenty of locally operated relief funds that can help turn your donation into immediate results.

Things I’ve Read Recently…

Book I’m Reading: The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Book I Just Finished: A Swarm of Butterflies by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett

Thing(s) I’ve Read/Heard Recently Worth Sharing:

City on Fire (Atavist magazine): The Atavist is an amazing journalism project. Once a month, they publish a longform nonfiction piece by an author. October’s is about a violent post-election insurrection…in 1864.
PABLO TORRE FINDS OUT
: Expect to see a lot of PTFO episodes in this section over time. This episode on Emmett Till should move you to purchase Wright Thompson’s new book.
How elderly dementia patients are unwittingly fueling political campaigns (CNN): I’m presenting this without comment namely because I couldn’t finish the article as I found myself clenching my jaw so hard that it began throbbing.
What Drugmakers Did Not Tell Volunteers in Alzheimer’s Trials (NYT): I feel horribly for my former colleagues at the Alzheimer’s Association, which spent so much of its reputational capital on pushing this drug over the finish line only to bear the brunt of shady Big Pharma bullshit. It’s a gift link.

Coming Friday…

Oooooh. A sneak preview!

Coming up this week at Dirt Nap, we revisit our existential dread and discuss where our collective selves stand with the most contentious Election Day of the past 100 years around the corner.