Age of Reverence is a work of narrative nonfiction that examines the anthropocentric worldview and exploitative relationship with the natural world that have brought humanity to the brink of ecological and moral crisis. At the same time, it offers a hopeful vision for a new human era--one defined not by domination and destruction but by reverence for life and an expanded ethic of compassion, respect, and justice for all sentient beings.
The book argues that the roots of our current environmental and societal crises can be traced back to a common origin: the domestication of plants and animals roughly ten thousand years ago. This pivotal shift marked the emergence of a hierarchical worldview that positioned humans above and apart from the rest of the living world, laying the groundwork for systems of exploitation that persist today. Nowhere is this paradigm more evident than in industrial animal agriculture, which sits at the intersection of climate change, biodiversity loss, public health threats, and the immense suffering of billions of animals.
Drawing on philosophy, environmental ethics, psychology, and personal experience--including years spent living with rescued animals and operating a sanctuary--Age of Reverence explores how this worldview became so deeply embedded as to be nearly invisible. It also offers a path forward, inviting readers to question inherited assumptions, reconnect with their innate sense of reverence for life, and participate in the transformation of our food systems, culture, and collective future.