Hi there,
You're receiving this email because you previously attended a climate event I put together. I wanted to share two quick things.
First, I have a book coming out this fall. My new book, The Carbon Wave, comes out September 1. It tells the inside story of how the largest climate law in American history passed — the people, the heartbreaks, the wins — woven through my own story of becoming a parent in the middle of it all. You can pre-order it here. More details below.
Second, I've started a Substack called "Notes from the Electric Era". If you'd like to keep up with what I'm working on, the first post is now live — you can read and subscribe here.
All the best,
Leah
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Early praise:
"This book is marvelous: a political thriller, a how-to, a memoir, a horror story, a love story." — Kim Stanley Robinson, author of The Ministry for the Future
"Welcome to the most thrilling policy narrative you'll ever read, one in which idealistic young people slog for years uphill, slice through endless bureaucracy, on behalf of the earth and the future, and actually win something huge. This is a gripping book, a suspense thriller, an explanation of how the sausage got made, a character study of grace under pressure, and all on behalf of the climate, which is you and me and everyone yet to come." — Rebecca Solnit, author of The Beginning Comes After the End
"This is one of those few books that will be read for a long time. It is a beautifully written inside account of world-changing legislation. What this law jumpstarted can't be stopped." — Bill McKibben, author of Here Comes the Sun and founder of Third Act
Book Description:
The true, inspiring story of the new parents who spearheaded an unlikely climate victory.
From the rising climate advocate named to the Time100 Next list, for political junkies and anyone who cares about the environment.
They were perhaps an unlikely trio: the professor Leah Stokes, the policy wonk Sonia Aggarwal in the White House, and the DC insider Adrian Deveny in the Senate, but together, they crafted the boldest climate legislation of our time. In The Carbon Wave, Stokes chronicles the turbulent path of their climate bill as it veered between breakthrough and collapse—from the hopeful beginnings of the Green New Deal in 2018, to the bill’s near-certain defeat by Senator Joe Manchin in the winter of 2021, to the surprise passage of the landmark legislation in August 2022. During this critical time, the author was pregnant or in the NICU with her premature twins, and Aggarwal and Deveny were new parents too.
Interlacing personal narratives with stories from Congress, the White House, and outside activists, Stokes shows how dogged perseverance and collective action can still bend the course of history. The book concludes with an update from the second Trump administration, explaining the parts of the bill that were—and were not—rolled back, and why we should remain hopeful that progress is still being made.
Everyone has been told to shrink their carbon footprint and lighten their load on our planet by changing their behavior. But what if instead of making ourselves smaller, we joined with others to maximize our impact? That’s the carbon wave. And this book shows us how to make it.
