Is a River Alive? flows like water from the mountains to the sea, over three major journeys: The first is to northern Ecuador, where a miraculous cloud-forest and its rivers are threatened with destruction by gold-mining. The second is to the wounded rivers, creeks, and lagoons of southern India, where a desperate battle to save the lives of these waterbodies is underway. The third is to north-eastern Quebec, where a wild river - the Mutehekau or Magpie - is being defended from death by damming in a river-rights campaign. Passionate, immersive and revelatory. Is a River Alive? is a book that invites us radically to reimagine not only rivers but also life itself.