Staff Pick
We heal ourselves by healing the trees.
“...the forest is far more than a source of timber. It is our collective medicine cabinet. It is our lungs. It is the regulatory system for our climate and our oceans. It is the mantle of our planet. It is the health and well-being of our children and grandchildren. It is our sacred home. It is our salvation.”
—from the Introduction, by the author Recommended By Marianne T, Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
How Forests Can Heal Us--and the Planet Diana Beresford-Kroeger's startling insights into the hidden life of trees have sparked a quiet revolution. In this captivating account, she shows us how forests can not only heal us, but can also save the planet.
As a child, Diana Beresford-Kroeger was taught the ways of the Celtic triad of mind, body, and soul. This included the philosophy of healing, the laws of the trees, Brehon wisdom, and the Ogham alphabet, all rooted in a vision of nature that saw trees and forests as fundamental to human survival and spirituality. Out of that holistic vision came the observations that put Beresford-Kroeger at the forefront of her field: the discovery of mother trees at the heart of a forest; the fact that trees are a living library, have a chemical language, and communicate in a quantum world; the major idea that trees heal living creatures; and that planting trees can actively regulate the atmosphere and the oceans, and even stabilize our climate.
To Speak for the Trees eloquently shows that if we can understand the intricate ways in which the health and welfare of every living creature is connected to the global forest, we will still have time to mend the self-destructive activities that are leading to drastic fires, droughts, and floods.
Synopsis
"A rare gift: an inspiring tale about trees, trauma and the very purpose of life." --Andrew Nikiforuk, author of Empire of the Beetle Diana Beresford-Kroeger--a world-recognized botanist and medical biochemist--has revolutionized our understanding of the natural world with her startling insights into the hidden life of trees. In this riveting memoir, she uncovers the roots of her discoveries in her extraordinary childhood in Ireland. Soon after, her brilliant mind bloomed into an illustrious scientific career that melds the intricacies of the natural world with the truths of traditional Celtic wisdom.
To Speak for the Trees uniquely blends the story of Beresford-Kroeger's incredible life and her outstanding achievement as a scientist. It elegantly shows us how forests can not only heal us as people but can also help save the planet.