Drinkable Rivers

Drinkable Rivers: How the river became my teacher

“Her walking journeys and accompanying musing become a pursuit of reconnection and, ultimately, hope.”

 Resurgence & Ecologist

“A philosophical and poetic travelogue”

Down to Earth Magazine

“Inspiring!”

Satish Kumar

“2026 Book of the Year”

 The Woodstock Land Conservancy

 During her childhood in a densely populated suburb of Rotterdam, Li An Phoa was already amazed by the wilderness in the area, the moss between the pavement tiles and the herons in the ditches. As a twenty-something, she ventures into the real wilderness for the first time. During a canoe trip through the Canadian Arctic, she discovers that she can drink from the river. But when she returns three years later, she can no longer do so: the river is poisoned, the ecosystem disturbed. That experience stays with her. Since then, Phoa has been drawing attention to drinkable rivers and urging people to take action.

In this book, a rich tapestry of travelogue, memoirs, reportage, philosophical musings, and poetry, Li An Phoa takes the reader on her adventures along rivers on four continents. On foot, she covers over 15,000 kilometers and experiences the deep interconnectedness of all living things. She encounters bears, rattlesnakes, and dragonflies, and speaks with farmers, writers, and ecologists. With her original perspective and disarming approach, she continuously asks the question: how can our rivers become drinkable again?

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