The Nerves And Their Endings : Essays by Jessica Gaitán Johannesson

One of the great joys of being a bookseller is bringing together readers to celebrate books we love by the writers we most admire.

This summer we'll be hosting just such an occasion - the launch of Jessica Gaitán Johannesson's first collection of essays The Nerves And Their Endings.

I devoured The Nerves and Their Endings - a  bold, experimental collection of essays which, page by page, I felt physically expand my capacity to feel and care, extending my own nerve endings to planet and people in a way I hadn't ever conceived of.

The Book:

The body as a measuring tool for planetary harm. A nervous system under increasing stress.

In this urgent collection that moves from the personal to the political and back again, writer, activist, and migrant Jessica Gaitán Johannesson explores how we respond to crises.

She draws parallels between an eating disorder and environmental neurosis, examines the perils of an activist movement built on non-parenthood, dissects the privilege of how we talk about hope, and more.

The synapses that spark between these essays connect essential narratives of response and responsibility, community and choice, belonging and bodies. They carry vital signals.

The Hype:

This is one of the books we're most excited for this year - and not just because Jess is one of the Lighthouse booksellers! To illustrate I'm not just being biased, allow me to share what others have said about the collection:

‘These essays ask how we might not only live in a time of climate collapse, but how we might work towards a better future also ― one of community, shared understanding, and tenderness, even in the face of such terrible inequality, cruelty, loss, and disaster. This is a book that’s truly necessary for our moment.’ – Rebecca Tamás, author of Strangers: essays on the human and nonhuman

‘Jessica Gaitán Johannesson “stays with the trouble” of climate, environmental, and social injustice with a searching honesty. Tangled, raw, and sparking with intelligence, The Nerves and Their Endings shows how the personal and the political, the human body and the earth’s body, are knotted together.' Samantha Clark, author of The Clearing

‘The Nerves and Their Endings is a beautiful book full of solidarity, grief, and love. Jessica writes with a soft, ardent touch about the climate crisis, the climate movement, and living across borders. I felt I was being spoken to by a friend and also by a poet.’ – Yara Rodrigues Fowler, author of there are more things

All that to say, we're very VERY excited to toast Jess, and the arrival of The Nerves And Their Ending, and we hope you'll join us for the festivities!

Jess will be in conversation with poet Alycia Pirmohamed.