Many in our era long for a sense of optimism grounded in a deep experience of the beauty of nature. However, much of the nature writing over the past several decades has emphasized the grief caused by climate change and environmental destruction. In addition, the natural world has primarily become a place to process one's own trauma rather than a reality in its own right. We might wonder: does any writer in our time truly appreciate the wonders and joys of nature? Fortunately, this is precisely what the classical nature writers do. Writers and artists like John Muir, Katie Lee, Henry David Thoreau, Georgia O'Keeffe, Sigurd F. Olson, the early Terry Tempest Williams, John Denver, Edward Abbey and Joseph Wood Krutch emphasize beauty, joy, ecstasy, union, a love affair with nature, and a sense of dissolving into a larger Reality. So do a few modern figures like Yosemite Park Ranger Shelton Johnson and New Mexico poet Jimmy Santiago Baca. Indeed, it is precisely this literary tradition that can offer us the strength and optimism needed to preserve a healthy environment. The Pure Religion of Sunshine and Snow: Reflections on Spirituality in America's Nature Writers reveals the major insights of these luminous figures.