Also in Nature & Environment

What Can I Do?

An Alphabet for Living

by Lisa Harrow

Introduction by Roger Payne

For the Media

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Contact: Jon-Mikel Gates, Publicity Assistant, 802-295-6300 x111,
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"For me, acting had always been a mission—I have always believed that the job of an actor is to reach into the hearts and minds of the audience and help them to reflect deeply on the human condition. As Shakespeare said, 'Actors hold the mirror up to Nature.'"

—Lis Harrow

New Book by Broadway Actress Lisa Harrow Inspires Action to Protect the Earth and Show that Ordinary People Can Make a Difference

Most people have asked themselves the question, “What Can I do?” in the face of the many social and environmental problems that seem to overwhelm us daily. It feels hopeless and impossible that any one person can do something that will make a positive difference. Yet, as we all know, that is exactly how change happens, one individual action at a time.

When actress Lisa Harrow (Royal Shakespeare Company, Broadway debut in Wit, many film credits) married Dr. Roger Payne, the world’s leading authority on whales and whale song, her life changed. Suddenly she was living and adventuring alongside someone who was making a difference, and “With the adventures came a growing understanding of Roger’s world, and through that understanding, a gradual awakening to the environmental problems Earth faces.”

Then, when Roger suggested that they write, direct, produce, and star in a two-person show using science and poetry to showcase, not only the problems, but also the solutions (Lessons From the Copernicus) the idea for What Can I Do? was born. Lisa noticed that after the performance, people came up to them asking what they could do to help. She immediately began to assemble information about the dozens of organizations that had inspired her for the play. She put together an annotated listing of all their web sites and produced a little booklet called What Can I Do? that was given away to all audience members at the end of the show. The demand was immediate, and when strangers began calling to find out how to get a copy of her booklet, she decided it was time to expand it into a real book.

Reminiscent of the bestselling 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth, but reinvented for the Internet age, What Can I Do? lists and annotates hundreds of web sites that offer resources, ideas, and valuable tools for taking action. In addition Lisa Harrow tells the inspiring stories of ordinary people who started these organizations and who are making a difference every day—just like we all can!