Literature & Nature Reading Group discussion

The sustained popularity of this book speaks to its core message of finding a way to reimagine our place as humans within nature--within as opposed to without.

I first read this book in 2022 at a time of personal transition, moving away from city life toward a more meaningful connection to the natural world, and it affected me profoundly with its powerful storytelling, gentle moral insistence, and deep wisdom. I came to accept the book as a teacher as it helped to change how I see--and feel-- my place in the patterns of nature, especially relating to plant life in all its myriad forms and designs.

Now revisiting it with other readers, I'm looking to the book's potential to gather people around a vision of living in this world that recalls to us the lessons of plants, showing how reciprocity enriches us all.

As expressing gratitude is a key theme in the book, I'm happy to be reading this in November as we approach Thanksgiving. It's also a perfect book for all of us who would choose to honor the gifts and living heritage of Indigenous Peoples this month.

Our in-person discussion will be on December 6 at 10:30 AM at Baltimore Woods Nature Center.
https://baltimorewoods.org/bookgroup/