Diane Wilson - Diary of an Eco-Outlaw: An Unreasonable Woman Breaks the Law for Mother Earth

Praise for Diary of an Eco-Outlaw

Diane Wilson is a true hero. An outlaw in the Robin Hood tradition, she defies laws that serve modern feudal corporate barons in order to protect the rest of us. Her Diary is the fast-paced story of a most reasonable woman, a true-life odyssey that should be read by everyone who wants to liveand pass on to our childrena sane, sustainable, just, and genuinely thriving world.

John Perkins , New York Times bestselling author of Hoodwinked, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man , and The Secret History of the American Empire

Our countrys real heroes are ordinary people like Diane Wilsonpeople willing to battle the bastards to make a difference. Hers is a story that will make you laugh and make you cry, and even make you act. Dianes dedication is inspirational to all grassroots agitators for justice.

Jim Hightower , national radio commentator and author of The Hightower Lowdown

Another ecothriller from the powerhouse Diane Wilson. An unstoppable tale of true bravery. Mesmerizing, inspiring, awesome. I love it. This book will shake the ground beneath your feet.

Janisse Ray , author of Ecology of a Cracker Childhood and Pinhook

Who would have guessed there could ultimately be such sweet joy blossoming from such heartbreaking dishonesty and howling raw pain? The beauty of Diane Wilsons soul will give you hope for humanityeven those of you who are not generally disposed toward such dangerous optimisms. She has written another magnificent book.

Rick Bass , author of Nashville Chrome and Colter: The True Story of the Best Dog I Ever Had

When this fiery fisherwoman from small-town Texas with five kids and a high school education takes on the worlds most polluting pollutersFormosa, Union Carbide/Dow, BP, and, for good measure, Halliburtonwatch out! You wont be able to put this one down. Hollywood couldnt come up with a more original, inspirational character, nor could they find a more creative writer to spin her tale.

Medea Benjamin , cofounder of CodePink and Global Exchange

Praise forAn Unreasonable Woman

I dont often gush, but this book had me fascinated from the first page and whomper-jawed half the time.To write this well is a stunning achievement.

Molly Ivins , the late nationally syndicated political columnist; author of Who Let the Dogs In ?

Back in the 1960s there was much banter about who would write the great American novel. Well, I think Ive found the book: An Unreasonable Woman by Diane Wilson. Theres a catch. This isnt fiction. And its all the more powerful for that reason.

Jeffrey St. Clair , co-editor of CounterPunch

I have never read a book quite like this one, and worry already that I might not yet again. [I]ts easy to regard Diane Wilsons book as simply a masterpiece and to let it go at that. But we owe it more. This book inspires in us the courage to believeto rememberwe can still change the world.

Rick Bass , award-winning author of Nashville Chrome, The Hermits Story and Colter

Imagine if Faulkner were the Mad Hatter on a mission to save the planet and you get some idea of Diane Wilsons astonishing story and her rawboned but powerful prose style. This is an important book because it proves that eternal vigilance and magnificent obsession are often the price that must be paid to save our fragile ecosystems from those bent on despoiling them for profit.

Ken Wells , author of Meely LaBauve

Praise forHoly Roller

Holy Roller is a book so good I have to make myself put it down so I wont finish it too soon.

Garrison Keillor , host of A Prairie Home Companion

How in the world does Texas turn out so many sassy, silver-tongued agitators: Ann Richards, Molly Ivinsand now, Diane Wilson. Holy Roller answers that question. It made me laugh out loud many timeseven as I cringed with alarm for the young girl Wilson at the mercy of the lunatic antics of cuckolded game wardens and snake-handling convicts. Readers who love Harper Lee, Carson McCullers, or Flannery OConnor will savor and admire this mesmerizing tale of growing up among shrimpers on the Texas bayous.

Lisa Alther , best-selling author of Kinfolks and Kinflicks

Copyright 2011 by Diane Wilson

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

Project Manager: Patricia Stone

Developmental Editor: Joni Praded

Copy Editor: Laura Jorstad

Proofreader: Helen Walden

Designer: Peter Holm, Sterling Hill Productions

Printed in the United States of America

First printing March, 2011

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 11 12 13 14 15

Our Commitment to Green Publishing

Chelsea Green sees publishing as a tool for cultural change and ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book manufacturing practices with our editorial mission and to reduce the impact of our business enterprise in the environment. We print our books and catalogs on chlorine-free recycled paper, using vegetable-based inks whenever possible. This book may cost slightly more because we use recycled paper, and we hope youll agree that its worth it. Chelsea Green is a member of the Green Press Initiative ( www.greenpressinitiative.org ), a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manufacturers, and authors working to protect the worlds endangered forests and conserve natural resources. Diary of an Eco-Outlaw was printed on Natures Natural, a 30-percent postconsumer recycled paper supplied by Thomson-Shore.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wilson, Diane, 1948-

Diary of an eco-outlaw : an unreasonable woman breaks the law for

mother earth / Diane Wilson.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-60358-215-5

1. Wilson, Diane, 1948- 2. Environmentalists--United

States--Biography. 3. Political activists--United States--Biography. 4.

Shrimpers (Persons)--United States--Biography. I. Title.

GE56.W555A3 2011

333.72092--dc22

[B]

2011000376

Chelsea Green Publishing

Post Office Box 428

White River Junction, VT 05001

(802) 295-6300

www.chelseagreen.com

For Heck, Dale, Ronnie, and Cat

And the 22,000 who have died from the Bhopal tragedy

As I write these words, mass protests have already brought down the corrupt government of Tunisia, and are in the process of bringing down corrupt governments in Egypt and Yemen.

As spontaneous as these or other protests may sometimes seem, the truth is that protests do not generally happen on their own. Nor do revolutions. They take years of organizing and planning and working and recruiting and taking actions that are a little daring, then more, and then even more.

This is what Diane Wilson does. This is what this book is about.

Heres another way to say all this. The head of security for South Africa late in the apartheid regime said that what that government feared most from the rebel group African National Congress was not their sabotage or even their violence, but the possibility that they would convince the mass of oppressed South Africans not to respect law and order as such. No government in the world, he said, could stand up to a population that no longer perceives that government as legitimate, that no longer perceives the government as acting in the interests of the people.

Like protests, like revolutions, this process of delegitimizing does not happen on its own. It happens because person after person witnesses and bears witness to the crimes of the state against people, against the Earth, against all it oppresses. But there must be those who will bear this witness, who will speak out, and who will give others courage to speak out in their wake.