Wild Islands: How Ice Shapes Our Planet—and Us follows glaciologist and storyteller M Jackson across remote landscapes including South Georgia, Adak, Iceland, and Antarctica, where glaciers become a lens for exploring climate change, ecological recovery, memory, family, and transformation. Blending science, environmental history, and memoir, Jackson examines landscapes shaped by ice, fire, colonialism, and human exploitation while confronting profound changes in her own life, including motherhood and the uncertainty surrounding her child’s future. The book challenges the assumption that a warming world offers only inevitable loss, showing instead how South Georgia’s remarkable ecological recovery demonstrates what collaboration, determination, and action can achieve. Ultimately, Wild Islands argues that neither glaciers nor people have predetermined futures—and that uncertainty, while frightening, can also create space for possibility and hope.