This Is Our Home: A Sustainability Story to Help You Start Your Own Eco-Friendly Journey

A Book I�ll Never Let Go Of

A book on eco-friendliness. *Sighs*

Yes, itâ��s a critically important topic, so I had chosen to pick up the book and read it. I am, after all, a child of this generation, as well as of past ones. My parents reused everything. Sustainability matters were part of life and werenâ��t even touted as suchâ�"those labels came into vogue generations later. It was simply the *right* way to do things.

However, these days, the issue has ballooned. Renewability and preservation of the environment has become a more and more important topic as environmental issues stack on each other dailyâ�"a kind of grotesque, passionless compound factor that has the capacity to weaken, then kill us all.

Quietly. Silently. Without fanfare. It simply gets the job done.
So, this book? Pretty important. Vitally important.
Still. A book on eco-friendliness. *Sighs*

I settled in for a boring read, visions of needing to pry my eyelids open after a while dancing in my head.
I could not have been more wrong.

Trent Romerâ��s writing is evocative and beautiful. Moreover, he has the skill to draw you into a story, hooking you, chapter after chapter. A surprise. Also, Mr. Romerâ�"a TED Talk speakerâ�"knows what he speaks of. His path to this area of study and education was not fueled by fights against The Man, after sharing psychedelic drugs at Woodstock. As a long-term resident of Nassau, New York, his family owned and operated a multi-generation plastics company until 2021. With strains of Itâ��s A Wonderful Life playing in my mind as I read his words and envisioned myself growing up in the same small townâ�"with the same interesting and quirky residentsâ�"I learned that as he grew up, there was a common, well-known mantra in his area, one that seemed out of place as the beautiful orb of the sun shimmered on the brilliant waters of Lake Nassauâ�"

Stay out of the lake.

As he unravels this first-person report of his journey learning more about the lake he grew up sharing his life and intimate space with, I found myself more and more drawn into the story. He invites you in, deeper and deeper, chapter by chapter. Historical accounts are unearthed, as are present-day first-person accounts.

His storytelling skills are evident. Using stunning symbolism, he withholds just enough information to keep you reading. In the meantime, you learn a great deal about eco-friendliness. He explains shock events, their effects, path dependence, and more.

Yet, in a sense, this is Trent Romer�s own version of Walden Pond, mirroring Thoreau�s generations earlier quest, one with critical repercussions for all of us. All fueled by that persistent, unceasing admonition, constantly repeated, the notes of an unintended horror story growing�

�stay out of the lake.

As a writer myself, I am humbled. Mr. Romer could (and I think should) write mysteries. They wouldn�t be flashy, pulp-fiction volumes. Rather, from what I read here, they would pull you in with a tapestry of emotion, while being ultimately readable.

This book is a quiet page-turner.

By now, you might have guessed that I am eminently glad I picked up this book. As I strive toward more and more minimalism myself (yes, that�s a journey as well), this is a prized volume. I won�t let go of it. It�s a keeper. For the story, as well as for a book I can study on how to become a better writer and serve my readers better. (I write under a pseudonym).

And what it teaches about eco-friendliness also stays with you.

One direct request to Mr. Romer, from me, echoing comments I�ve already made. Please, Sir. Write mysteries. Really. Use them as a vehicle to generate funds for environmental education if you choose.

But please, Sir. Write mysteries. Post-haste.

One last thing. Did he, after all those darkly uttered admonitions, dictated to all, literally, for generations�stay out of the lake?

You�ll have to read it to find out.