The frayed patch of paper rested gently on grass that matched its brown, burnt edges.
In the wake of the Eaton Fire that ripped through Altadena on Jan 7, 2025, it was no surprise to find ash and debris outside my house in Eagle Rock. It felt like Christmas with the layer of white dust blanketing my lawn and car.
But I hadn’t seen anything nearly this large — or this well-preserved. It was surreal. A single page from a book with handwritten notes and highlighted passages, that had somehow surfed a smoke cloud for over 8 miles.
The previous reader had paid careful attention to this page, highlighting the words, “…between people and their environment… to guide both to a better shared future.”
With both margins burnt away, making sense of the text was a puzzle. Culture, environment, future, and modernization… Why was the author saying? And, more importantly, what was the Eaton Fire trying to tell me?
It had been an anxiety-riddled few days. On the 7th, I was home with my four- and seven-year-olds who, in their own ways, were trying to solve a puzzle of what it meant that Daddy was running around the house packing bags, checking flashlights, and preparing them for a potential late-night evacuation.
By four AM, I’d given up hope of sleep. I snuck out from between the kids and went to the living room to check the Watchduty app in peace. Outside, one neighbor was already packing the family car. The smell of fire was in the air.
At 4:30, my son drifted out rubbing his eyes in his Batman pajamas. It was his 4th birthday. He stayed with me and played with superhero toys as wind rattled the house. Eventually, my daughter joined us, saying,”I was scared last night. But I’m not scared anymore.”
By 6:30 AM, we were out. Thousands of LA homes were lost. Hundreds of families, displaced. Eagle Rock was untouched.
Days later, I posted a picture of the burnt page on Instagram. A friend quickly identified the text as an excerpt from The Future of Life by Edward O. Wilson, a book about the delicate relationship between humanity and the natural world. It explores the threats posed by human activity — habitat destruction, climate change, and species extinction — and how we might guide ourselves to a better shared future.
The book’s cover blurb states, “We know what we do, and we have a choice.” It struck me how those words, scorched and fragile, had made that improbable journey to my lawn — like a message carried on the wind, asking for attention.
This wasn’t just about a fire or a book. It was about the future we’re leaving for my Batman-wearing four-year-old and his brave sister.
Right now, as the climate crisis deepens, we all still have choices: what we consume, what we believe, how we care for each other, and how fiercely we protect what remains.
That burned page wasn’t just a reminder of destruction — it was a call to act. A call to protect the future of life — for our children, for all of us.
https://www.amazon.com/Future-Life-Edward-Wilson/dp/0679768114
Recently on Twitter