Theory of Water by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
⭐⭐⭐- Read- Worthy!
Kindle & Audible: US or CA
Morning Readers & Happy Monday!
Catching up on my January reads because, whew, what a month it’s been!
I picked up Theory of Water as it was the winner of the Hilary Weston Non-Fiction award and the CBC Best Canadian Non-Fiction of 2025; also, because it seemed to have a similar tone to one of my favorite 2025 reads, Braiding Sweetgrass.
This book examines water as a teacher, connector, and guide for how we relate to land, each other, and the world at large. Drawing on Anishinaabe knowledge, personal experience, cultural history, and ecological insight, she uses the element of water as a lens to rethink relationships, resistance, and collective futures in a world shaped by colonialism and environmental crisis.
I will preference this with saying that I had a really rough month this January and I might not have been in the right headspace to receive this book. I did love that much of Leanne’s content and tone was in line with what I’d learned of Anishinaabe culture through Braiding Sweetgrass, and she actually references Robin Kimmerer a number of times throughout the book. However, I did find it quite politically geared and those parts felt a little out of sync with the rest of the message. Quite honestly though, every indigenous is inherently political, whether it’s from a policy, societal or environmental standpoint, so I do get it, I just didn’t connect with it this time around.
Having said all of that I do plan on going back and re-listening to this book at some point and seeing if I can come back a little more receptive.
Has a book just not hit you the right way the first time, but come back stronger the second?
-Anna R.
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Kindle & Audible: US or CA
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