Cascadia: The Elusive Utopia
Exploring the Spirit of the Pacific Northwest
By Douglas Todd

This book will appeal to anyone who wants to understand the unique culture and spirituality of the fast-growing Pacific Northwest, which includes British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. Envied by people around the world, Cascadia – as it is known – is remarkable for its famed mountains, evergreens, eagles, beaches and livable cities. Most people, however, do not realize that Cascadia, named after the region’s “cascading” waterfalls, is also home to the least institutionally religious people on the continent. Despite their unusual resistance to old ways of doing religion, Cascadia: The Elusive Utopia argues that most of the 14 million residents of this rugged land are eclectically, informally, often deeply "spiritual." They gain their sense of the sacred through the land, which in Cascadia, unlike in most parts of North America, is untamed and spectacular. Many find it overwhelming, humbling. In this original book, 15 leading writers, historians, bio-regionalists, pollsters, scholars, economists, philosophers, eco-theologians, literary analysts and poets explain how the Pacific Northwest is nurturing a unique "spirituality of place," which could become a model for the planet. Brought together by critically-acclaimed Vancouver Sun spirituality writer Douglas Todd, the gifted contributors to this book highlight Cascadians' unusually strong attraction to personal freedom, do-it-yourself optimism, "secular-but-spiritual" nature reverence and the vision of a healthy future that has never before been realized: an elusive utopia. Contributors include noted historian Jean Barman, Canadian poet laureate George Bowering, political philosopher Philip Resnick, religion scholar Patricia O’Connell Killen and American-Canadian eco-theologian Sallie McFague.

"This book is sheer magic, but also replete with sound reasoning grounded upon reality. Prepare to be enchanted by the amazing sweep and depth of its collective vision – one that faces squarely the great chasms lying ahead of all who dare to hope and struggle for a transformed relationship between all members of society on the one hand and with our very source of being, the natural world itself, on the other. Cascadia: The Elusive Utopia challenges mind and spirit alike. It is a must read for everyone who longs for a cosmic understanding of what it means to be truly human and fully alive at this crucial, historic hour. What it says about this one greatly privileged region of the Pacific coast is prophetic for the future of the planet as a whole." —Tom Harpur, author of The Pagan Christ

"In a compelling and original way, the talented contributors to this book probe the cultural, ecological and spiritual richness of this remarkable green corner of the continent. I wholeheartedly support the book’s authentic vision that Washington, Oregon and British Columbia can continue to mature to offer the world a hint of utopia, a model of a healthier, deeper way of living." —Alan Durning, director of Sightline Institute, Seattle, and co-author of the Cascadia Scorecard series

"Douglas Todd has assembled some of Cascadia’s best thinkers and essayists to show how the Pacific Northwest’s stunning wilderness and intricate ecology have inspired modern environmental movements, a self-reliant secular spirituality, ethnic pluralism and rugged independence. As this volume reveals, something special is going on in Cascadia." —Rex Weyler, author of Greenpeace: The Inside Story and The Jesus Sayings.

Douglas Todd is one of the most honoured spirituality and ethics writers on the continent. He has won more than 60 journalism honours and educational fellowships. Working for the Vancouver Sun and other newspapers, he is a two-time winner of the Templeton Religion Reporter of the Year Award, which goes to the top spirituality writer in North America’s secular media. In addition to winning National Newspaper Awards in Canada, Vancouver Magazine referred to him as “arguably Vancouver’s most thoughtful journalist.” Todd is the author of Brave Souls: Writers and Artists Wrestle with God, Love, Death and the Things that Matter.