Unspeakable brings the climate conversation to Byron Bay Library
Dr Jean Renouf, Professor Richard Hil and Carmen Stewart come together for a timely conversation about climate disruption, community resilience and the practical actions we can take without waiting for government.
Byron Bay Library will host the launch of Unspeakable: Facing up to the climate catastrophe and its consequences in Australia, a compelling new book by Northern Rivers authors Dr Jean Renouf and Professor Richard Hil.
Renouf, Hil and Carmen Stewart will lead an engaging discussion about why climate change can be difficult to confront, how its consequences are already reshaping Australian communities and what resilience can look like in a rapidly changing world.
Drawing on decades of experience in war and disaster zones, community-led disaster response and the catastrophic 2022 Northern Rivers floods, Unspeakable explores climate disruption as more than a scientific or technical problem. The book considers its effects on meaning, relationships and moral responsibility while examining the practical work of mitigation, adaptation, resilience and regeneration.
“The hardest thing about the climate catastrophe is often to say, in an ordinary voice, that it is already here,” Dr Renouf said.
“Richard and I wrote Unspeakable to be honest with that difficulty, and to show that once a community can face what is happening, it usually turns out to have more agency than it believed. The book offers people concrete things they can do now, in their own lives, without waiting for permission.”
The conversation will explore both the challenges communities face and the opportunities for preparedness, connection and collective action.
Light refreshments will be served and copies of Unspeakable will be available to purchase.
Event details
What: Unspeakable Book Launch and Conversation
When: Thursday 19 November 2026, 3pm–5pm
Where: Byron Bay Library
Cost: Free
Bookings: Essential. Call 02 6685 8540 or book online through Richmond Tweed Regional Library
Book information: www.jeanrenouf.com/unspeakable