It's Only the End of the World Book Club - The Second Body

“It’s the end of the world every day, for someone.”
– Margaret Atwood

As the bustle of our workday fades, we invite you to leave behind the noise and join us in the serene embrace of the St Andrews Botanic Garden. We delve into stories and reflections that challenge our understanding of the world as we know it. Together, we’ll consider themes of ecological collapse, transformation, and the ways in which we might engage with these monumental shifts.

Daisy Hildyard – The Second Body (excerpt)

Every living thing has two bodies. To be an animal is to be in possession of a physical body, a body which can eat, drink and sleep; it is also to be embedded in a worldwide network of ecosystems. When every human body has an uncanny global presence, how do we live with ourselves? In this timely and elegant essay, Daisy Hildyard captures the second body by exploring how the human is a part of animal life. She meets Richard, a butcher in Yorkshire, and sees pigs turned into boiled ham; and Gina, an environmental criminologist, who tells her about leopards and silver foxes kept as pets in luxury apartments. She speaks to Luis, a biologist, about the origins of life; and talks to Nadezhda about fungi in an effort to understand how we define animal life. Eventually, her second body comes to visit her first body when the river flooded her home last year. The Second Body is a brilliantly lucid account of the dissolving boundaries between all life on earth.

Themes: Ecological Interconnectedness, Climate Change and Corporeality, Environmental Impact of Industrialisation, Health, Ecology and Human-Nonhuman Relationships, Embodied Knowledge and Ecological Awareness, Environmental Justice and Inequality, Ecological Grief and Loss

Buy book here.

About the Reading Group

In this reading group, we’ll journey through both fiction and non-fiction, where we’ll unearth narratives that encourage us to question, reflect, and reimagine what might come after the end. In shared conversation, we’ll ask what it means to live through moments of profound change, and how literature can equip us to witness and engage with these shifts.

Whether you are a seasoned reader of ecocritical literature, or someone simply interested in the intersection of the written word and the natural world, this group encourages diverse perspectives. We’ll be reading the chosen texts beforehand, and coming together to discuss them in a relaxed, open-minded atmosphere.

No matter your familiarity with the material, we encourage everyone to share their thoughts, and questions as we explore the themes together. As we go along, we’ll adapt our discussions to the group’s interests and pace, allowing room for both joint exploration and personal reflection.

Essential Information:

Minimum age 18. Please bring your own reading/writing materials.

The entrance fee covers access to the garden, as well as tea, coffee, shortbread, and water. Free RSVP for those with exisiting admission tickets for this date, students and Friends Members.

As this is an out of hours event, please meet at the main gate to the Garden at 6pm. If you are running late, please notify Anne Daffertshofer via adaffertshoferstandrewsbotanic.org (Subject line: late/book club).

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher St Andrews Botanic Garden