When climate solutions researcher and advocate John Moorhead-Guinea loses his eldest son Alex in a climbing accident, made more likely by human-induced climate change, he is devastated. This book offers his meditations on love and grief for his son and the polluted planet we inhabit and can bring back to equilibrium.

Composed as letters to Alex, this deeply personal book traces both universal themes of human relationships to nature, juxtaposed with the intimacy felt by a father for his beloved child. Drawing inspiration from Alex's life and love of the mountains, Moorhead-Guinea's tender manifesto reframes the argument for urgent behaviour change to one of love, for yourself, your family, and the planet.

Review Quotes

Incredibly beautiful and powerful. I think his message on love as a driver for change with regard to the climate is incredibly profound.

This is a beautifully written letter to a son who died in a climbing accident made more likely by human-induced climate change.

Even though this book has a sad undertone, the way the author uses his grief to pursue a mission for his son is to be commended. 52 solar panels is ultimately a story of hope and what we can all do together to save our planet.

John's letters and poems give us glimpses of his son, Alex - the child, the adolescent, the man - and the raw grief caused by his sudden loss.

John Moorhead-Guinea asks a provocative question for all of us: what if you loved planet earth in the same way we love our families? Through the terrible tragedy of the death of his son, he has the reader experience the grief he feels and then compares it to the disappearance of our natural world from climate change.

Such an amazing book! I can say with certainty I would have liked Alex and, in addition to his many talents, I admire the values he embraced.

I was also inspired by the openness around such profound love and loss and choosing to move forward, with the support of friends and family, in a direction of personal meaning.

---ALL BOOK PROCEEDS GO TO GRASSROOTS NETWORK FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE (GNCJ)---

The GNCJ is a funding and knowledge exchange platform.

The GNCJ's goals are:

Just transition to fossil-free societies based on the principles of sufficiency and reparations.
A financial system that respects nature, prioritizes ecological and social justice and is truly in service of, and controlled by, the people
Full respect of free prior informed consent and of the right to self-determination of all peoples.

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