We know the elements of erosion: wind, water, and time. They have shaped the spectacular physical landscape of our nation. In these essays, Terry Tempest Williams brilliantly explores the many forms of erosion we face as a nation: of democracy, science, compassion, and trust. She examines the dire cultural and environmental implications of the gutting of Bear Ears National Monument—sacred lands to Native Peoples of the American Southwest—and of the undermining of the Endangered Species Act. Compellingly, Williams argues that the climate crisis is not an abstraction, offering as evidence the drought outside her door and, at times, within herself.