Finding the Mother Tree

Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

By: Suzanne Simard

Narrated by: Suzanne Simard

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From the world's leading forest ecologist who forever changed how people view trees and their connections to one another and to other living things in the forest—a moving, deeply personal journey of discovery

“Finding the Mother Tree reminds us that the world is a web of stories, connecting us to one another. [The book] carries the stories of trees, fungi, soil and bears--and of a human being listening in on the conversation. The interplay of personal narrative, scientific insights and the amazing revelations about the life of the forest make a compelling story.”—Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass

Suzanne Simard is a pioneer on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence; her TED talks have been viewed by more than 10 million people worldwide.

In this, her first book, now available in paperback, Simard brings us into her world, the intimate world of the trees, in which she brilliantly illuminates the fascinating and vital truths--that trees are not simply the source of timber or pulp, but are a complicated, interdependent circle of life; that forests are social, cooperative creatures connected through underground networks by which trees communicate their vitality and vulnerabilities with communal lives not that different from our own.

Simard writes--in inspiring, illuminating, and accessible ways—how trees, living side by side for hundreds of years, have evolved, how they learn and adapt their behaviors, recognize neighbors, compete and cooperate with one another with sophistication, characteristics ascribed to human intelligence, traits that are the essence of civil societies--and at the center of it all, the Mother Trees: the mysterious, powerful forces that connect and sustain the others that surround them.

And Simard writes of her own life, born and raised into a logging world in the rainforests of British Columbia, of her days as a child spent cataloging the trees from the forest and how she came to love and respect them. And as she writes of her scientific quest, she writes of her own journey, making us understand how deeply human scientific inquiry exists beyond data and technology, that it is about understanding who we are and our place in the world.

Take The Time to Dig In

My eyes are opened to things I never knew to look for after spending time, deep into the pages of this vital book, with Dr. Simard and her tenacious work on behalf of our forests.

As one who lost every seeming stitch of life on four lushly wood acres in the Sierra mountains in the Creek Fire of 2020, I have stood heartbroken among the blackened and craggy remains of long loved tree friends and wondered how, or if, the forest would ever return. It won’t in my lifetime. If I’m lucky, my now grown children will see it in its fullness again by the end of their lives, if we all wake up to climate change and make the concerted efforts we surely must if our own species is to survive.

This is a treasure map for seekers of fortune. In it lies the breath we breathe and guides us to the knowledge necessary to sustain it, protect it, love it, and pass it on as the good stewards of the earth we are charged with being. We occupy this sphere in space with other vital beings and we are all locked into a dance dependent on one another. As I write this fires are raging again, in the summer of 2021, across the West and Pacific Northwest of the US and Canada, and trees and forests are in flames.

Please read Dr. Simard’s massive research woven into a riveting tale and ponder it. Then share the knowledge you gather, like the Mother Trees do, and perhaps we can save our tree friends, our oceans, our beauty, our air, and each other.

Eye-opening research!

I really liked learning of this exemplary research and the battles the author experienced and overcame by hard work, determination and courage. In presenting this novel research and amazing findings it has motivated me as a restoration ecologist to appreciate the intricacies of the ecological community. I did not like hearing about the family break culminating in becoming a Lesbian, as if it was an accomplishment. I am really saddened for her girls and former husband.

Forestry,/Researh/Family Skillfully Entertwined

Suzanne Sumard intertwines her family interactions with her discoveries about interactions among Pacific Nortwest forest dwelling flora.  Her schooling, her loves, her illnesses, her trials, tribulations and struggles--all mixed in with what she suspects to be life-supporting interactions among forest trees, shrubs, and micro-organisms.  Creating a professional career in research and forestry along with being a mother herself, working against gender bias and industry inertia, Sumard uncovers convincing evidence that forest plant communities thrive by cross-species supplying of essential nutrients, ultimately finding that dominant species, such as Douglas fir, take care of each other, the younger offspring  aided in their gathering nutrients by, in particular, their oldest nearby relation, the Mother Tree.

Strong work

This book was a joy to listen to. Dr. Simard wove a beautiful story about how interconnected the forest is through an approachable description of her scientific research through the years. She also shared her life experiences alongside her journey through science … which was very impactful for me being in the early stages of what I hope will be as beautiful a journey as hers. This book was so inspirational!

Inspiring!

So beautiful. I was entranced by the way the author’s personal life and professional life were intricately woven together in this amazing story.