My Days of Dark Green Euphoria, A. E. Copenhaver
My Days of Dark Green Euphoria, A. E. Copenhaver
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My Days of Dark Green Euphoria
A Novel

Author: A. E. Copenhaver

Narrator: Erica Sullivan

Unabridged: 9 hr 24 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/31/2022


Synopsis

Love, lies, and eco-anxiety—an irresistible satire about finding balance in a chaotic worldThirtysomething Cara Foster is, one might say, eco-anxious—perhaps even eco-neurotic. She eats out of dumpsters—not because she wants to but because it’s the right thing to do, does laundry as seldom as possible, takes navy showers every couple of days, and is reevaluating her boyfriend for killing a spider instead of saving a life.Cara has never met her six nephews and nieces—soon to be seven—because she doesn’t fly domestic, unless it’s an emergency, or international ever. She longs for a carbon footprint so light you’d hardly know she exists.Then, during a mimosa-soaked Sunday brunch, she meets her boyfriend’s alluring mother, Millie, and Cara finds herself mesmerized. Millie represents everything Cara is against: She eats meat, has cowhide rugs, drives a car the size of a small yacht, and blithely travels the world by boat, plane, and train—without any guilt whatsoever. In fact, Cara soon admits this may be why she finds herself so drawn to Millie.As they begin spending time together, getting pedicures and drinking sixteen-olive martinis, Cara becomes hooked on Millie and this new freedom from the harsh realities of life in the twenty-first century.Yet before long, Cara risks losing everything to be close to the mundane extravagance of Millie’s world. Her career, her best friend, and her identity all hang in the balance as she struggles to disentangle from this intoxicating muse.Irreverent, witty, and provocative, My Days of Dark Green Euphoria, winner of the Siskiyou Prize for New Environmental Literature, is a satirical novel of how a life on the edge of eco-anxiety can spiral wildly out of control, as well as how promising and inspiring a commitment to saving our planet can be.

About A. E. Copenhaver

A. E. Copenhaver is a writer, editor, science communicator, and climate interpreter who has worked in the environmental and nonprofit sectors for almost a decade. She holds degrees in English and environmental studies from Santa Clara University, and in 2009 she earned her master of arts degree in culture and modernity from the University of East Anglia in England.

About Erica Sullivan

Erica Sullivan is a professional actress of both stage and screen and holds her MFA from the Yale School of Drama. She is currently a company member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She makes her home in Ashland, Oregon, with her family.


Reviews

The MC's head isn't screwed right on, frankly. She probably did some planet saving but her anxiety probably set it off all the way back. Q: Dan’s gaudy neon blue-and-green plastic toothbrush that looked like it was designed by a paranoid, retired military intelligence officer with PTSD from an alien a......more

Goodreads review by Pip

Incredible novel which captured better than anything I've ever read about being an ecoanxious woman in 2022. The myriad of decisions that one makes daily to keep oneself and the planet alive are described minutely through the eyes of Cara. When she discovers the 'heroin' of living 'normally' and not......more

4.5 stars--Cara is someone who, like the Lorax implored us, "cares a whole, whole lot." She strives to live lightly on the Earth; so much so that some of her efforts to mitigate her eco-impact border on the absurd. However, unlike the popular depiction of activists on TV sitcoms, etc., in which the a......more

Goodreads review by Tara

A fascinating downward spiral of eco anxiety. Cara was very likeable. Millie is so reminiscent of many of her generation. Loved the description of her washing out the bean container only to throw it away. The passage I'll carry with me is this one: "We, whoever remained, we'd take whatever was left......more

Goodreads review by Curtis

An engaging book that grapples with the hyper awareness of societal and ecological issues we have at our finger tips, the effects this has upon a person. If you want an interesting dive into someone's head during crisis and don't mind the anxiety riddled 'key' of the protagonists mind it's worth a r......more


Quotes

“Awareness of ecocide, environmental devastation, and animal suffering might not seem the likely content for a madcap adventure. That was before My Days of Dark Green Euphoria.” Carol J. Adams, author of The Sexual Politics of Meat

“From the very start, this novel is captivating and takes you places you don’t see coming…It’s a book that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading it.” Robin Raven, author of The Kindness Workbook


Awards

  • Siskiyou Prize for New Environmental Literature