Sift Reader Portal

In 2023 my friend Alissa Hattman published her debut novel Sift. A lyric story of two women navigating social and environmental collapse searching for a future.

Her publisher, The 3rd Thing Press creates reader guides for their books and Alissa asked me to be one of the contributors. I was still finishing up my masters in labor studies and wasn’t sure what to say about a novel about surviving societal collapse, but Alissa told me she was interested in my reaction for just that reason.

My mind kept returning to one scene over and over as I thought about Sift, a scene where an environmental activist disappears under mysterious circumstances. That became the center of my work, because to me, it felt like the point at which two paths diverged.

You can read my short essay (which includes some reading recommendations) as well as reflections by other artists here.

And you can buy a copy of Sift here.