The Great Salt Lake is undergoing rapid and visible collapse. Ongoing drought, large scale water diversion, and rising temperatures have pushed the lake to historic lows, exposing miles of lakebed and disrupting ecosystems that support millions of migratory birds. As the water recedes, toxic dust laced with heavy metals is lifted into surrounding communities, transforming an environmental crisis into a public health one. What was once a defining feature of Utah’s landscape is now a daily reminder of environmental neglect and urgency.
The anthology, Wake of Our Waning Sea responds to this moment through story. Rather than focusing on policy or data alone, the collection uses fiction to examine what it means to live beside a disappearing body of water and how environmental loss reshapes memory, identity, and the future.
I contributed a speculative short story titled “Bonnie in Her Bed” and later read the piece aloud at the anthology’s book launch at the Patagonia Outlet in Salt Lake City, Utah.
About the Anthology
Wake of Our Waning Sea brings together writers responding to an ecological crisis that is still unfolding. The Great Salt Lake functions not only as subject, but as a living presence that shapes the stories in the collection. The anthology considers environmental loss as something felt culturally and personally, not just scientifically.
The pieces resist easy conclusions. Instead, they hold space for grief, responsibility, and reckoning, asking readers to consider how humans interact with land they depend on but often fail to protect.
Bonnie in Her Bed
My story, “Bonnie in Her Bed,” is a speculative piece that grows directly from current conditions surrounding the Great Salt Lake. While set in a future‑leaning landscape, the fears and tensions it explores feel increasingly close to the present.
My story carries a dark feminist tone and unfolds a grim reality, allowing atmosphere and implication to do the work.
Reading at the Book Launch
The book launch at the Patagonia Outlet provided a fitting environment for this anthology. Reading my work aloud in a space dedicated to environmental responsibility underscored the urgency behind the collection.
Live readings create a different kind of engagement than the page alone. Speaking the story aloud placed it within a shared moment of listening and reflection, reinforcing how environmental loss becomes more immediate when it is witnessed in community.
Why This Project Matters
Wake of Our Waning Sea represents the kind of creative work I seek out. Work that responds to place, engages with urgent realities, and uses storytelling to ask difficult questions rather than offer comfort.
This project reflects my ongoing interest in speculative narratives that connect advocacy to experience. It demonstrates how fiction can function as witness and warning while still leaving room for interpretation and reflection.
Interested in exploring the anthology? Find the book here.
xoxo,
Michaela Rae
