To Speak for the Trees
My Life's Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest
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To Speak for the Trees
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Narrated by:
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Diana Beresford-Kroeger
About this listen
2019 Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Award
Canadian botanist, biochemist, and visionary Diana Beresford-Kroeger's startling insights into the hidden life of trees have already sparked a quiet revolution in how we understand our relationship to forests. Now, in a captivating account of how her life led her to these illuminating and crucial ideas, she shows us how forests can not only heal us but save the planet.
When Diana Beresford-Kroeger - whose father was a member of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy and whose mother was an O'Donoghue, one of the stronghold families who carried on the ancient Celtic traditions - was orphaned as a child, she could have been sent to the Magdalene Laundries. Instead, the O'Donoghue elders, most of them scholars and freehold farmers in the Lisheens valley in County Cork, took her under their wing. Diana became the last ward under the Brehon Law. Over the course of three summers, she 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 of it rooted in a vision of nature that saw trees and forests as fundamental to human survival and spirituality.
Already a precociously gifted scholar, Diana found that her grounding in the ancient ways led her to fresh scientific concepts. Out of that huge and holistic vision have come the observations that put her 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 through the aerosols they release and that they carry a great wealth of natural antibiotics and other healing substances; and, perhaps most significantly, that planting trees can actively regulate the atmosphere and the oceans, and even stabilize our climate.
This book is not only the story of a remarkable scientist and her ideas, it harvests all of her powerful knowledge about why trees matter, and why trees are a viable, achievable solution to climate change. Diana eloquently shows us that if we can understand the intricate ways in which the health and welfare of every living creature is connected to the global forest, and strengthen those connections, we will still have time to mend the self-destructive ways that are leading to drastic fires, droughts, and floods.
©2019 Diana Beresford-Kroeger (P)2019 Random House CanadaCritic Reviews
“In her youth in Ireland, Diana Beresford-Kroeger received an extraordinary and unique education in traditional Celtic plant lore. At university in Canada, she specialized in biochemistry and merged what she learned and observed into her signature studies of trees, augmented by First Nation forest wisdom. This autobiography of learning ways to heal the damaged earth and break the tightening grip of climate crisis offers a rational and inclusive way to keep our future.” (Annie Proulx, author of The Shipping News)
“Diana Beresford Kroeger has given readers a rare gift: an inspiring tale about trees, trauma and the very purpose of life. Her Celtic story works on you like a good walk in a pine forest: You can’t help but feel invigorated afterwards.” (Andrew Nikiforuk, award-winning journalist)
What listeners say about To Speak for the Trees
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Cat Masters
- 27-11-2021
Brilliant and heart warming
Diana Beresford-Kroeger has given us a precious gem with this book. Her voice is soothing, her accent is beautiful and her connection to nature can be heard and felt in her voice. This book has moved my spirit and invigorated me beyond words. I wish I could express in words how much this book resonated with me. The knowledge Diana shares with us is incredibly important and so interesting. She has shared with the reader some very personal, raw, beautiful and colourful moments from her childhood and school years. Her knowledge of trees and the natural world is remarkable. I highly recommend “To Speak for the Trees”. Everyone would get something very special out of this book. It truly is a gem, a gift from a wonderful and intelligent lady who I respect so very much. Thank you Diana.
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- Kindle Customer
- 22-11-2022
Pour me another cup of tea
I love the way she told the story, her vocabulary and the turn of phrase
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- Jane Toy
- 06-04-2021
Moving and magical
Thank goodness I heard this book. Beautifully written and read. One for the gentle heart.
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- Jasby
- 22-11-2022
A beautiful book
This book is a journey that is educational and insightful a joy to listen to and thought provoking with a touch of mystical wonder imparting knowledge of the ancients.
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- Anonymous User
- 09-01-2024
wholesome and heart warming
really sweet exploration of traditional Gallic knowledge and modern science. well read and very informative
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- Anonymous User
- 05-07-2024
Should be our new bible
So grateful for this book of ancient, new, and hugely relevant information. Told in story form with a delightful lilting accent❤️
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- indigirl
- 10-10-2020
So enjoyable I didn't want it to end
What an amazing book. I haven't been this affected by a book in a very long time. I loved everything about it. Diana Beresford-Kroeger's experiences are so special and we are fortunate to have her share her knowledge and wisdom with us. She made her scientific expertise accessible through clear explanations to appeal to people of all backgrounds.
I loved this book so much that I have ordered a physical copy, especially for the appendix where she explains the origin of the Ogham alphabet and correlation with tree species.
This is the first book that I wanted to start listening to again as soon as I had finished it the first time. I have since sought out all other available publications by Diana Beresford-Kroeger and would love to watch her documentary (but can't find it in Australia).
Overall, a very moving, calming, uplifting, renewing listening experience. Highly recommended.
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- Jacqui
- 01-06-2021
Beautiful book
What a gift to the world, let's all hear Diana's call and revive this planet 🌲🙏🌳
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- Fiona remaj
- 24-03-2022
loved it!!! could turn it off and want more
loved it, and will listen to it again. Diana's a beautiful reader and her story has empowered me to take her advice and get those trees planted and encourage others to do aswell for humanity sake. Her life and Brenon wardship was interesting to say the least. highly recommend
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- Paul Taylor
- 11-02-2024
Simply magnificent
Perhaps the most beautifully read and written exploration of the intersection between science, nature, culture and the mysteries of ancient wisdom ever.
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