Unraveling Identity and Home: Kathryn Nuernberger’s ‘Held’ Challenges What It Means to Belong
I learned many fascinating things, like the fact that Volta invented the battery to experiment with reanimating dead things, or that narwhals hate the sound of boats. I learned about the ecosystems of moss and about trying to survive the heartbreaks of the world, from the loss of a child you were responsible for, to the potential demise of all starfish. Yet it is deeply personal.
As a mother responsible for keeping little people safe, as a resident of the earth, which humankind seems intent on killing, reading this book made me feel seen, understood. Nuernberger is grappling with the life and death questions we all have to contend with, and while she doesn’t hold up an answer, in the search we find the connection. She shows us proof in the mutualism of tiny creatures that sustain each other — even if there is no greater meaning, no higher power, no inherent destiny or fate, there is this undisputable symbiotic relationship between living things. We can only hope that is enough to sustain us.
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