At its heart is a single, transformative idea: that rivers are not mere matter for human use, but living beings – who should be recognized as such in both imagination and law. Inspired by the activists, artists and lawmakers of the young ‘Rights of Nature’ movement, Macfarlane takes the reader on an exhilarating exploration of the past, present and futures of this ancient, urgent concept.

Is a River Alive? flows like water from the mountains to the sea, over three major journeys: The first is to northern Ecuador, where a miraculous cloud-forest and its rivers are threatened with destruction by gold-mining.
The second is to the wounded rivers, creeks and lagoons of southern India, where a desperate battle to save the lives of these waterbodies is under way.
The third is to north-eastern Quebec, where a spectacular wild river – the Mutehekau or Magpie – is being defended from death by damming in a river-rights campaign. Braiding these journeys is the life story of the fragile chalk stream who rises a mile from Macfarlane’s house, and flows through his own years and days. Passionate, immersive and revelatory, Is a River Alive? is at once Macfarlane’s most personal and most political book to date.

It is a book that will open hearts, spark debates and challenge perspectives. Lit throughout by other minds and voices, it invites us radically to reimagine not only rivers but also life itself. At the centre of this vital, beautiful book is the recognition that our fate flows with that of rivers – and always has.