Guardians of the Trees: A Journey of Hope Through Healing the Planet

“Even when things look hopeless, it might still be possible to avoid disaster,” writes physician Webb in this valiant debut that addresses climate change and health care head-on. She originally traveled to Indonesia from America as a college student in 1993 to work with orangutans (and in the process, met and married her husband, Cam), but after being struck by the intense need for medical care that she witnessed in the country’s remote villages, she pivoted her studies to become a physician. Not long after graduating from Yale’s medical school, Webb returned to Indonesia, in hopes of helping mitigate the costly health care that led many to turn to illegal logging, which offered “large amount[s] of cash quickly.” Working with international and local teams, she eventually founded Health in Harmony and Alam Sehat Lestari, two nonprofits “designed to improve people’s health as the key to saving [the] rain forest.” After a near-fatal sting by a box jellyfish in July 2011, Webb was forced to scale back her hands-on humanitarian efforts, but her devotion to fighting for the health of the world and its people remains unflagging, as evidenced in her galvanizing and hopeful story. Those looking for a jolt of inspiration would do well to pick this up. (Sept.)