Is a River Alive?

If a river is alive, ours is dying.

In Is a River Alive?, Robert Macfarlane explores what it means to treat rivers as living systems rather than scenery—drawing together science, law, story and care. He looks at how language shapes responsibility, how “personhood” for rivers is being argued around the world, and why attention (the act of really seeing) so often comes before protection.

It’s a short, beautifully written read that leaves you noticing currents, gravels, and the lives a river holds—and wondering what we owe them. For a valley like ours, where long stretches of the Tarrant now run dry, it offers a simple, powerful lens: if we call a river alive, we must act when it ails.

Verdict: highly recommended. Read it, walk the Tarrant, and—if you can—help us keep it flowing.