What do you think?
Rate this book
A Forager's Life
A memoir about belonging and motherhood, told through the author's lifelong passion for wild food
When Helen Lehndorf moves to the city after a childhood living off the land in rural Taranaki, she can't help but feel different from her peers and professors. She finds solace in long walks foraging weeds and plants along the river, but something inside her still longs for home. Chasing a feeling of ancestral belonging, she travels to England with her new husband. There they learn about nature as the commons, shared between all who encounter it - a source of delight, food, medicine. An unexpected pregnancy in Aotearoa changes everything, and motherhood takes over Helen's identity. When her son is diagnosed with autism, foraging becomes a space for selfhood in a chaotic world. Weaving memoir with foraging recipes, principles and practices, A Forager's Life is an intimate story and a promise that, with the right frame of mind, much can be made of the world around us. 'Wonderful. A story that will have you looking at your neighbourhood with new intent.' Wendyl Nissen 'Fascinating and really beautiful ... I loved this book.' Claire Mabey, 'Book Critic', RNZ Afternoons 'I devoured the pages ... and found myself wanting more.' Kete Books '... her accounts of these struggles, and how she and her family worked through them, provide the books with much of its - considerably large - heart.' North & South
When Helen Lehndorf moves to the city after a childhood living off the land in rural Taranaki, she can't help but feel different from her peers and professors. She finds solace in long walks foraging weeds and plants along the river, but something inside her still longs for home. Chasing a feeling of ancestral belonging, she travels to England with her new husband. There they learn about nature as the commons, shared between all who encounter it - a source of delight, food, medicine. An unexpected pregnancy in Aotearoa changes everything, and motherhood takes over Helen's identity. When her son is diagnosed with autism, foraging becomes a space for selfhood in a chaotic world. Weaving memoir with foraging recipes, principles and practices, A Forager's Life is an intimate story and a promise that, with the right frame of mind, much can be made of the world around us. 'Wonderful. A story that will have you looking at your neighbourhood with new intent.' Wendyl Nissen 'Fascinating and really beautiful ... I loved this book.' Claire Mabey, 'Book Critic', RNZ Afternoons 'I devoured the pages ... and found myself wanting more.' Kete Books '... her accounts of these struggles, and how she and her family worked through them, provide the books with much of its - considerably large - heart.' North & South
320 pages, Paperback
Published September 5, 2023
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
March 23, 2023
A gem of a book that’s as much about humanity as it is about the plants. I loved every line and enjoyed filling in the gaps of the life of my friend and learning more about what’s important to her and how she’s navigated some experiences that I’ve only formerly seen from the outside.
By the end I realised the writing had become steady, considered, and calm - just like Helen is now and a foil to the excitable energetic but inexperienced younger Helen of earlier chapters. I’m not sure how she achieved that but the effect was exceptional and only added to the depth of my reading experience.
If you ever wonder who Helen Lehndorf is, then it’s this book: it is so wholly and perfectly her.
By the end I realised the writing had become steady, considered, and calm - just like Helen is now and a foil to the excitable energetic but inexperienced younger Helen of earlier chapters. I’m not sure how she achieved that but the effect was exceptional and only added to the depth of my reading experience.
If you ever wonder who Helen Lehndorf is, then it’s this book: it is so wholly and perfectly her.
March 3, 2023
What a wonderful, wonderful book. So profound, gentle, moving, generous and beautiful and a treasure trove in and of itself. 🌿🍃🌱
August 22, 2023
I adored this book. The chapters about motherhood and coming out the other side of hard time, moved me. Loved
February 22, 2024
This review is for the Audiobook edition published by Bolinda Audio, 1 Jan 2024
ISBN: 9781038661074 narrated by Ayesha Gibson.
I read this as a bookclub challenge to read an author local to me.. and this was recommended to me by a friend (and mother of my daughter's bestie). I had NO idea how close to home we are talking. I am surprised that this author isn't someone I have met in person (maybe I have?). According to her memoir we have lived in the same suburbs in two different cities, and we have many mutual acquaintances. How do I know? I know at least 5 of the people she names in the book, and some of the specific locations, are in my current neighbourhood. It feels a bit surreal.
Quick note about the narrator of the Audiobook.. not a Kiwi, but an Aussie "doing a Kiwi accent". As such she fails a lot of the Māori names and terms very badly (which I found distressing), and the accent slips in places and sounds awkward.
It did feel gratifying to find a book that expresses some of the love that I have for the plants around me. As a long-time weed eater, herb collector, and hobbyist hedgewitch, I have enjoyed living in my personal wilderness. As someone who became chronically ill and unable to tend my garden "properly", I leaned into the new look of my space, grazing guineapigs in my personal meadow, and identifying everything edible. I feel a lot less weird when I find others who also value the things that I enjoy, and who let the pūhā grow.
This book might not be for everyone. It is as much memoir as it is informational. It is local to Aotearoa New Zealand, and deals with plants found in the Southern Hemisphere. The author is a journaler and likes to keep records of observations in nature and recipes for delicious or medicinal tea/infusion blends, foraged food, feel good pick me ups, and tonics. Lovely to find someone else who chronicles which herbal infusions are best for the time of year, capitalising on when new flowers or fruits are at their best.
As this is a book of personal love for place and wilds, and a search for personal meaning, there are stories of sentimental value and romantic turns of thought. A little magical thinking is tempered with scientific sense, but for the most part we're leaning into the eccentricity here. The author flexes her poetic strength and leans into the personal meaning that she finds in her wild places.
The personal memoir portions of the book resonate, as I am also a Pākeha New Zealander. My forebears settled in New Zealand in the earliest wave of invaders, decades before the nation that is now New Zealand was conjoined by Te Tiriti, that ostensibly brought indigenous Māori under the "protection" of the British Crown (urgh). I was brought up romping in marginal lands, on grass covered hills, and also went through my edgy rebellious stage, finding out about self-sufficiency, counterculture, punk/goth music, and neopaganism. I haven't been on an OE but I can see the appeal of wanting to travel to the "homeland" whence our progenitors came, to meet the flora and fauna that we read about in story books, but have never seen in this land of the South Pacific.
Being a parent and raising an Autistic child is recounted in the book. Lehndorf has a more typical shock and grief response than I did, because I already presumed that this would be my direction before I ever chose to have children (having already self identified as different brained) and I already knew about Autism so.. reading about the distress and confusion of other parents sometimes gives me a sense of survivor's guilt.
Having spent time living on a lifestyle block, and raising chickens from egg to table I identified with the experiences of humane rooster culling and processing carcasses. The author tells of her upbringing as the daughter of a butcher, so if you're vegan or squeamish you might want to give at least those chapters a miss? Up to you though. As an omnivore it appeals to me that I should be mindful and aware of where all my food comes from, and when you are processing animals for the table yourself, it can be a little less enticing to eat meat.
Recommended reading for anyone wanting to get the feel for a more grounded, relationship with their own environment by being aware of the roles and properties of the plants and animals in their personal sphere of influence.
ISBN: 9781038661074 narrated by Ayesha Gibson.
I read this as a bookclub challenge to read an author local to me.. and this was recommended to me by a friend (and mother of my daughter's bestie). I had NO idea how close to home we are talking. I am surprised that this author isn't someone I have met in person (maybe I have?). According to her memoir we have lived in the same suburbs in two different cities, and we have many mutual acquaintances. How do I know? I know at least 5 of the people she names in the book, and some of the specific locations, are in my current neighbourhood. It feels a bit surreal.
Quick note about the narrator of the Audiobook.. not a Kiwi, but an Aussie "doing a Kiwi accent". As such she fails a lot of the Māori names and terms very badly (which I found distressing), and the accent slips in places and sounds awkward.
It did feel gratifying to find a book that expresses some of the love that I have for the plants around me. As a long-time weed eater, herb collector, and hobbyist hedgewitch, I have enjoyed living in my personal wilderness. As someone who became chronically ill and unable to tend my garden "properly", I leaned into the new look of my space, grazing guineapigs in my personal meadow, and identifying everything edible. I feel a lot less weird when I find others who also value the things that I enjoy, and who let the pūhā grow.
This book might not be for everyone. It is as much memoir as it is informational. It is local to Aotearoa New Zealand, and deals with plants found in the Southern Hemisphere. The author is a journaler and likes to keep records of observations in nature and recipes for delicious or medicinal tea/infusion blends, foraged food, feel good pick me ups, and tonics. Lovely to find someone else who chronicles which herbal infusions are best for the time of year, capitalising on when new flowers or fruits are at their best.
As this is a book of personal love for place and wilds, and a search for personal meaning, there are stories of sentimental value and romantic turns of thought. A little magical thinking is tempered with scientific sense, but for the most part we're leaning into the eccentricity here. The author flexes her poetic strength and leans into the personal meaning that she finds in her wild places.
The personal memoir portions of the book resonate, as I am also a Pākeha New Zealander. My forebears settled in New Zealand in the earliest wave of invaders, decades before the nation that is now New Zealand was conjoined by Te Tiriti, that ostensibly brought indigenous Māori under the "protection" of the British Crown (urgh). I was brought up romping in marginal lands, on grass covered hills, and also went through my edgy rebellious stage, finding out about self-sufficiency, counterculture, punk/goth music, and neopaganism. I haven't been on an OE but I can see the appeal of wanting to travel to the "homeland" whence our progenitors came, to meet the flora and fauna that we read about in story books, but have never seen in this land of the South Pacific.
Being a parent and raising an Autistic child is recounted in the book. Lehndorf has a more typical shock and grief response than I did, because I already presumed that this would be my direction before I ever chose to have children (having already self identified as different brained) and I already knew about Autism so.. reading about the distress and confusion of other parents sometimes gives me a sense of survivor's guilt.
Having spent time living on a lifestyle block, and raising chickens from egg to table I identified with the experiences of humane rooster culling and processing carcasses. The author tells of her upbringing as the daughter of a butcher, so if you're vegan or squeamish you might want to give at least those chapters a miss? Up to you though. As an omnivore it appeals to me that I should be mindful and aware of where all my food comes from, and when you are processing animals for the table yourself, it can be a little less enticing to eat meat.
Recommended reading for anyone wanting to get the feel for a more grounded, relationship with their own environment by being aware of the roles and properties of the plants and animals in their personal sphere of influence.
December 8, 2025
Enjoyable memoir. Also fun recipes from foraged plants, but mostly things found in New Zealand and other southern hemisphere areas. Written with a lot of heart, personal reflection and love for others and the earth.
September 26, 2025
A memoir to date grounded in a connection to plants, earth & place.
A very lovely, gently written, looping book.
A very lovely, gently written, looping book.
February 16, 2026
An interesting read showing a different way to look at, and live, life.
March 25, 2023
This book is a beautifully written memoir with plants making a significant appearance as main characters. It begins with one of my favourite children's stories, Stone Soup. A man wanders into a village and asks for food, but there's nothing to spare. He puts a rock in the bottom of a pot, lights a fire, and stirs his "delicious soup". Bit by bit the villagers come by and they all have something to contribute so that the soup will be a little bit tastier. In the end there is a big, wonderful pot of chicken, vegetables and grains. All the villagers gather with him to eat the miraculous feast. This story neatly foreshadows the author's own lifelong commitment to good food and community.
Helen grew up in a practical family where butchering and preserving food was vital to the her small rural town. It was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with the plants that grow all around NZ, all too often unnoticed and usually considered pests. We get to know nasturtium, rosemary, fennel, kawakawa, chamomile, and many more. Each chapter discusses the way these plants impact Helen's life and uplift her when times are tough, provide a sense of being grounded during travels, cement connections with people she loves. At the end of each chapter we get recipes - a huge bonus which I'm going to explore further - I hanker after pine cone syrup.
A Forager's Life is honest and compassionate, it is philosophical and domestic and profound, and let's face it, profundity and self connection is so often found in the smallest of joys. I love this book and am in the process of recommending it to all my friends.
Helen grew up in a practical family where butchering and preserving food was vital to the her small rural town. It was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with the plants that grow all around NZ, all too often unnoticed and usually considered pests. We get to know nasturtium, rosemary, fennel, kawakawa, chamomile, and many more. Each chapter discusses the way these plants impact Helen's life and uplift her when times are tough, provide a sense of being grounded during travels, cement connections with people she loves. At the end of each chapter we get recipes - a huge bonus which I'm going to explore further - I hanker after pine cone syrup.
A Forager's Life is honest and compassionate, it is philosophical and domestic and profound, and let's face it, profundity and self connection is so often found in the smallest of joys. I love this book and am in the process of recommending it to all my friends.
April 16, 2023
In A Forager's Life the reader takes a gentle ramble with New Zealand author Helen Lehndorf as she shares her passion for wild food , which began while she was growing up in rural Taranaki .
“My family often foraged fruits and vegetables when I was growing up , although we didn't call it 'foraging' we were more likely to say 'gathered' or maybe 'scrumped'.
In her memoir Lehndorf reveals feeling unsettled when moving to the city for University where she meets her future husband Fraser who “loved nature, too, although rather than foraging and food-growing, he liked to take off into the wilds.”
Following their OE the young couple settled in Wellington where their son Willoughby was born and he was soon walking the parks and beaches in a pack while his mother foraged for food .
When their second child Magnus was diagnosed with autism Helen built a wild garden in their new house in Palmerston North, “ a pocket of wildness in the central city” which became a haven for the family and a way of connecting and sharing with the community.
A truly wonderful book , and a treasure trove of recipes and ideas for supplementing our food baskets from nature , and I will refer back to it many times in the future, to use the recipes.
From the stunning cover to the final words in the appendix this book resonated with me and I am sure anyone who enjoys growing food, family life and connecting with nature will find this memoir an uplifting read.
“My family often foraged fruits and vegetables when I was growing up , although we didn't call it 'foraging' we were more likely to say 'gathered' or maybe 'scrumped'.
In her memoir Lehndorf reveals feeling unsettled when moving to the city for University where she meets her future husband Fraser who “loved nature, too, although rather than foraging and food-growing, he liked to take off into the wilds.”
Following their OE the young couple settled in Wellington where their son Willoughby was born and he was soon walking the parks and beaches in a pack while his mother foraged for food .
When their second child Magnus was diagnosed with autism Helen built a wild garden in their new house in Palmerston North, “ a pocket of wildness in the central city” which became a haven for the family and a way of connecting and sharing with the community.
A truly wonderful book , and a treasure trove of recipes and ideas for supplementing our food baskets from nature , and I will refer back to it many times in the future, to use the recipes.
From the stunning cover to the final words in the appendix this book resonated with me and I am sure anyone who enjoys growing food, family life and connecting with nature will find this memoir an uplifting read.
July 23, 2023
This book was inspiring in so many ways.
I loved reading about Helen’s life experiences thus far; her connection to plants and the environment, her thoughts and feelings about parenthood and marriage, her love of writing and reading.
I resonated with so much of her story, and now I want to learn all about permaculture, foraging, and plants used medicinally. (Thankfully, the author has included a recommended reading list at the end of the book which I have noted down!) She has even inspired me to start journaling again.
I truly loved this book and am thankful to have randomly come across it on my Libby app. Perhaps the universe knew I needed to read this book? Strongly recommend!
I loved reading about Helen’s life experiences thus far; her connection to plants and the environment, her thoughts and feelings about parenthood and marriage, her love of writing and reading.
I resonated with so much of her story, and now I want to learn all about permaculture, foraging, and plants used medicinally. (Thankfully, the author has included a recommended reading list at the end of the book which I have noted down!) She has even inspired me to start journaling again.
I truly loved this book and am thankful to have randomly come across it on my Libby app. Perhaps the universe knew I needed to read this book? Strongly recommend!
July 12, 2026
Listened to this as an audiobook and I loved it so much I might try and find a secondhand copy to keep. I try not to hoard physical books but I can see this being a reference book for me. But also I just really loved the combination of auto biographical writing alongside folklore, maori culture and recipes. Practical but also insightful. I feel so at home knowing I'm not the only feral person in the world and think this will be one I recommend to friends who want to be more feral but can't quite let go of what others think of them. There are also so many poignant points in this book, I will likely read this again once it's on my shelf for keeps.
August 25, 2023
I had wanted to read this for a while, I had come across Helen on Instagram and enjoyed her photos and musings.
This book was so much more than I expected and shared so much that spoke to me, especially the gem ‘takiwatanga’ - in their own time and space.
Thank you Helen.
A great pace to read, great sharing of personal journey, relate ability, practical advise for foraging and great recipes and ideas.
This book was so much more than I expected and shared so much that spoke to me, especially the gem ‘takiwatanga’ - in their own time and space.
Thank you Helen.
A great pace to read, great sharing of personal journey, relate ability, practical advise for foraging and great recipes and ideas.
April 25, 2023
This is a vulnerable and sincere memoir about learning, Helen is one of those rare people who can make introspection clarifying but not indulgent. I really admire the balance in her writing between cosy and raw, and I loved reading about her dedication to a wild life. Her determination to bring her true love for the wild into her domestic sphere is something I aspire to.
May 24, 2023
A very enjoyable, informative read.
A memoir above oil but part natural health reference book with some great recipes using foraged plants easily available in NZ.
I read this book in two sittings.
The book cover is just so beautiful too.
Recommend for anyone into green, kitchen witchery, nature, plants, natural health remedies for themselves and family.
4/5
A memoir above oil but part natural health reference book with some great recipes using foraged plants easily available in NZ.
I read this book in two sittings.
The book cover is just so beautiful too.
Recommend for anyone into green, kitchen witchery, nature, plants, natural health remedies for themselves and family.
4/5
May 28, 2023
Foraging - very on trend at the moment. "A Forager's Life" is the story of Lehndorf and how she started out from a very young age, with a curiosity and deep interest in her surroundings, on a path towards foraging, sustainability, and permaculture. Packed with recipes, advice and tips, this book also includes a guide to foraging as well as an extensive bibliography. A great read.
September 16, 2025
My backyard is suddenly full of existing and future possibilities. I now see plants with a more-informed, and definitely more curious, eye. Yes kawakawa is growing there. And I have just added rhubarb, cape gooseberry and grape plants for future harvests. But this memoir has also invited a new perspective on our differences and possibilities as people. The word "takiwātanga" is a precious gift.
April 13, 2023
Disclaimer: Helen is an old friend of mine from university days. She shapes this memoir around her lifelong interest in foraging for food, and a strong element in the latter part of the memoir is the challenge of raising a son with autism. Includes recipes!
May 2, 2023
A simple, enjoyable read about the author's unique life experiences. And particularly how nature and foraging held her through all the varying seasons of her life so far. I wanted it to go a little deeper into everything, but it was good.
July 7, 2023
I loved this. Quirky and easy to read, but also wise and touching. I loved the familiar settings as well as the stories that were like nothing I've seen or done. It flowed well and I just really enjoyed reading it.
September 6, 2023
What a beautiful book. I found myself learning new things about the area I’ve loved my whole life. Wonderful to see it through the lens of someone who looks to nature and finds humanity woven through it.
January 1, 2024
This is a delightful book which I read after hearing the author speak at a writers festival. It is gentle, moving and really opened my eyes to the natural world around me. The recipes are a lovely touch and I hope to try some.
May 6, 2025
An incredible book for everyone around the world educational mythical hilarious beautiful
And so true to the New Zealand culture that I'm still running about after living here for 40 years I feel very honored to have this block everyone should have a copy
And so true to the New Zealand culture that I'm still running about after living here for 40 years I feel very honored to have this block everyone should have a copy
August 23, 2023
A beautiful story about life of foraging edible plants to gather bits of meaning of life itself.
December 4, 2023
Enjoyable if a bit odd at times. I really liked the writing style a lot.
January 4, 2024
This book was an absolute pleasure to read in every single way.
January 28, 2024
Loved this book. I wish I lived in a place where it was easier to forage without running into poisonous snakes, spiders etc. Life in NZ sounds idyllic for a forager. I enjoyed Helen’s journey.
March 26, 2024
Tender and spellbinding is a great description of this book. I felt like it was written with such warmth, kindness, and wisdom. Thank you
April 24, 2024
Thoroughly enjoyed the early years in this story and the exuberant youth detailed in this memoir. It of course takes a turn toward motherhood which tapered the story off somewhat for me.
August 22, 2024
Really enjoyed this book and listening to it as an audiobook I thought the recipes might seem unusual however the flow of the recipes along the story was really well done.
October 17, 2024
Great read for a different point of view
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews