Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest
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- Create Date：2022-06-24 03:19:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Suzanne Simard
- ISBN：052556599X
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Summary
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
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。
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。
Reviews
Cecille Gagne
，
I have always been bad at science and math， but even I can read this book and understand her study。 I like how she mixed part of her study with a bit of a memoir。 Somehow I find this helps me as a lamen to understand。 My mind is blown and now I want to go and walk in the forest and take note of what I see and see that connection between specimens。 I want to read all of her content now。 I think everyone should read this book。 It gives a real ah ha moment to environmental issues and gives insight I have always been bad at science and math， but even I can read this book and understand her study。 I like how she mixed part of her study with a bit of a memoir。 Somehow I find this helps me as a lamen to understand。 My mind is blown and now I want to go and walk in the forest and take note of what I see and see that connection between specimens。 I want to read all of her content now。 I think everyone should read this book。 It gives a real ah ha moment to environmental issues and gives insight to one major solution to consider in forestry。 。。。more
Keegan
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I wanted to love this book， but in the end， I abandoned reading it about halfway through; it was just too much of a slog to justify continuing。I'm baffled that this book has as high of ratings here as it has。 The book， as others have already mentioned， is in SERIOUS need of editing。 The author jumps around between inane memoir-styled tidbits to scientific journal-styled writing， sometimes in the same paragraph， that made it lack cohesion and flow。 I understand that the personal anecdotes support I wanted to love this book， but in the end， I abandoned reading it about halfway through; it was just too much of a slog to justify continuing。I'm baffled that this book has as high of ratings here as it has。 The book， as others have already mentioned， is in SERIOUS need of editing。 The author jumps around between inane memoir-styled tidbits to scientific journal-styled writing， sometimes in the same paragraph， that made it lack cohesion and flow。 I understand that the personal anecdotes support her decision to enter her studies/life work， but in all honesty， she could have removed them for a stronger focus on the science。 Much of the time， the anecdotes only weakly supported the current narrative。 Likewise， even her scientific sections were overloaded with too much technical jargon， making the connection between that and her personal anecdotes incredibly jarring。 I'm a very educated woman， but even I didn't have patience to sift through and try to understand some of her writing。 Overall， this book could have been HALF the length。 I'm truly shocked that Penguin editors allowed this to be published in its current iteration。 At the very least， they should have not marketed it in the manner they did。 The dust jacket is hugely misleading。 Big disappointment。 。。。more
Tom Walker
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Fascinating book。 Some ideas that I had encountered before， but here backed up by decades of solid field work and analysis。Trees do communicate with each other。 In this book， we learn exactly what that means。 It all happens in the underground， where chemicals and chemical signals are passed along the root systems of the trees， with a lot of help from the living systems in the soil around them。Ms。 Simard's writing style is more that of a scientific report than of a story of some kind， which is ki Fascinating book。 Some ideas that I had encountered before， but here backed up by decades of solid field work and analysis。Trees do communicate with each other。 In this book， we learn exactly what that means。 It all happens in the underground， where chemicals and chemical signals are passed along the root systems of the trees， with a lot of help from the living systems in the soil around them。Ms。 Simard's writing style is more that of a scientific report than of a story of some kind， which is kind of a shame， because it's a fascinating story。 But it's all there， in clear and correct English prose， how she got started thinking about this issue， the path she took to puzzle out the intricate details of tree communication the support - and pushback - she got from fellow scientists and the powers that be in the Canadian forest industry。Some have criticized Ms。 Simard for putting together in this book a kind of weird hybrid， a combination of scientific report and biography or memoir。 I can see their point， but it didn't bother me that much。 She did face a real struggle to get to her goal， both in her personal life and in her professional life， and to me， that was an integral and interesting part of her story。 。。。more
Katarina Heim
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This made me love Suzanne even more
Jen
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I didn’t realize a good chunk of this would be memoir， but I did love the research aspects。 Really fascinating stuff about plant intelligence， communication， and symbiosis。
Siobhan Harrop-McDiarmid
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Simard weaves her personal and professional history into the science of the interconnectedness of trees and the creatures living underneath them。 I was fascinated by the logging company stories and hope that clear cutting can become a thing of the past。
Megan Tripaldi
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I love when you can feel the author’s love of their subject through their pages。 Suzanne Simard LOVES her work and that is incredibly clear。 Books like this are such a gift because they provide scientific knowledge with personal connection。 It’s a gift to the reader， truly。
J。C。
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Combination of audio and physical book。 For me， a 5-star book is one that changes my perspective in the world， teaches me something I couldn't understand before reading it， fills me with a sense of awe。 Finding the Mother Tree is not just a book about trees and Simard's research findings， it is a book about her life。 About being a woman forester in a field dominated by men， about trying to help an industry that doesn't want to change， learning to find a voice amidst family heartache and self dou Combination of audio and physical book。 For me， a 5-star book is one that changes my perspective in the world， teaches me something I couldn't understand before reading it， fills me with a sense of awe。 Finding the Mother Tree is not just a book about trees and Simard's research findings， it is a book about her life。 About being a woman forester in a field dominated by men， about trying to help an industry that doesn't want to change， learning to find a voice amidst family heartache and self doubt。 This book is written with grace， humility and introspective beauty on nearly every page。 I learned SO MUCH about trees， how they rely on mycorrhizal networks， communicating with other trees using chemical signaling much like a neural network， how interconnected forests really are。 But I also learned how the lessons from trees and forests can be applied to our own lives。 Some of the passages brought tears to my eyes。 This is truly a beautiful book， with lessons for everyone。 。。。more
Sarah
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I immensely enjoyed reading this book。 If you enjoy nature books or how everything is interwoven this is a great book for you。 However there are some flaws in this book， causing it to receive 4 stars。 I didn’t mind her interweaving her personal story in with her research。 But it wasn’t done well and needed editing。 It was choppy and some times came and went with no clear reason or direction。 I also felt like she left us hanging on issues in her life and just let us figure out what actually happe I immensely enjoyed reading this book。 If you enjoy nature books or how everything is interwoven this is a great book for you。 However there are some flaws in this book， causing it to receive 4 stars。 I didn’t mind her interweaving her personal story in with her research。 But it wasn’t done well and needed editing。 It was choppy and some times came and went with no clear reason or direction。 I also felt like she left us hanging on issues in her life and just let us figure out what actually happened。 I’d get invested just to never get an ending。 This book reminded me a lot of Braiding Sweetgrass but that book is better。 So read both of the books and have a lovely time enjoying nature and all the beauty she has to offer。 。。。more
Brandon Challener
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Very different from what I normally read。 I learned so much more about how trees communicate and work together which was absolutely lovely。 The fact different species help each other astounded me。
Mamieg
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A combination of a memoir and environmental science non-fiction read。 There are some parts that were slow， but important to the memoir and slow， but important to the scientific understanding。
Marylou
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Living breathing science at it's best。 Science is as excellent and flawed as the humans involved。 Policy， many times built on science becomes titanic in it's inability to respond to new discoveries n so the destruction continues and change happens slowly。 Life does it's best to keep informing us。。 We have to pay attention n continue to respond to life。 Living breathing science at it's best。 Science is as excellent and flawed as the humans involved。 Policy， many times built on science becomes titanic in it's inability to respond to new discoveries n so the destruction continues and change happens slowly。 Life does it's best to keep informing us。。 We have to pay attention n continue to respond to life。 。。。more
Peter North
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Love Suzanne， but this wasn’t it。 Suzanne is a nerd and we love her for it。 Her research was ground breaking。。。 but。。。 she isn’t a writer or much of a story teller。 Her “pretending to be” and writing such a long winded book about her story was hard to get through。 She could have cut the book in half and strayed away from hopscotch sentence structures。 I really wish she told her story in a straight forward manner because she definitely has a story to tell。 Also saves a lot of paper :/
Patty
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I was mesmerized by this book。 As a scientist， I found the descriptions of her research compelling。 As I sit here looking out at the forest in my back yard， I feel a reverence for the trees and the collaborations that take place in nature。 I am forever grateful for the enlightenment。
Stephen Twist
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Once you have read Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds， Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake （May 2020 by Random House）， it is time to read Suzanne Simard's captivating book which combines the science of mycorrhizal fungus with the art of family and community existence。 First， you need to trust to her science - not as an exact， defining process， but as a signpost for understanding。 Then you need to have a mind that is open to ideas that you half-imagined， but never full Once you have read Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds， Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures by Merlin Sheldrake （May 2020 by Random House）， it is time to read Suzanne Simard's captivating book which combines the science of mycorrhizal fungus with the art of family and community existence。 First， you need to trust to her science - not as an exact， defining process， but as a signpost for understanding。 Then you need to have a mind that is open to ideas that you half-imagined， but never fully bought into。 The upshot is a fascinating， energising journey into new ways of thinking and imagining the world。 Simard's enveloping book even got me thinking whether we too are part of a mycorrhizal network or simply an evolutionary 'mobile carbon-banking asset' for the bacteria that inhabit us？ 。。。more
Anshuman Swain
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The scientific discoveries， meshed within the personal life of the author， gave me goosebumps when I read it。 The book is written exceptionally well， even though at some places， people unfamiliar with the trees and landscape of the northern America will feel a tad bit lost - but the main story always carries through。 Wonderful read！
Angie
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I loved learning more about Suzanne Simard's research and breakthroughs in forest ecology despite many challenges - so fascinating and inspiring。 I loved learning more about Suzanne Simard's research and breakthroughs in forest ecology despite many challenges - so fascinating and inspiring。 。。。more
Elaine
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The author is a guru on trees！ So fascinating to read about trees through her eyes。At the end of the book， was it about trees， or about life， giving/ living/ dedicating to the next generation。 A highly personal book as well as there was lots of reference to the author's personal experiences。 The author is a guru on trees！ So fascinating to read about trees through her eyes。At the end of the book， was it about trees， or about life， giving/ living/ dedicating to the next generation。 A highly personal book as well as there was lots of reference to the author's personal experiences。 。。。more
Nicole Wright
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one of those books that changed the way i think about the world！ such an incredible blend of the science of trees （although taking botany classes definitely helped me understand some of it）， critique of logging and industrialism， spirituality， sustainability， conservation， what can be learned from indigenous communities， and Suzanne Simard’s own story。 her perseverance， dedication， and passion shines through and i love how she takes messages from her trees in her hardest time and shares them wit one of those books that changed the way i think about the world！ such an incredible blend of the science of trees （although taking botany classes definitely helped me understand some of it）， critique of logging and industrialism， spirituality， sustainability， conservation， what can be learned from indigenous communities， and Suzanne Simard’s own story。 her perseverance， dedication， and passion shines through and i love how she takes messages from her trees in her hardest time and shares them with us。 shifting our perspective on forests and acknowledging them as complex systems capable of communicating and learning is radical in our society， but essential。 i believe the combination of science and personal connection with nature is the key to helping everyone be passionate about combatting climate change。 simard makes this clear in this book， supporting personal connections with nature and ideas that have been held in indigenous communities for centuries with her own scientific finding to provide us with a holistic approach to forest conservation and the many critical roles trees play in their ecosystems， for the earth， and within various cultures。 next time you are in a forest， think about how every tree in that forest is connected via fungal systems under your feet， sharing carbon， water， sugar， and messages indicating incoming danger。 these are complex systems， that will likely be considered intelligent in the coming years， with fundamental research based on simard’s research。 everyone should read this book and allow it to change their perspective and gift them with gratitude for our planet！ 。。。more
Carol
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This book contains such important and urgent information about saving our forests （and ourselves）。 My favorite quote: "We are built for recovery。" It's hopeful， in a time when we need both action and hope。 This book contains such important and urgent information about saving our forests （and ourselves）。 My favorite quote: "We are built for recovery。" It's hopeful， in a time when we need both action and hope。 。。。more
Douglas
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As an academic， the experimental descriptions were appreciated， and the whole story fits together nicely。 It’s its own thing。
Oleksandr Zholud
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This is an unusual non-fic popular science book。 The author （and narrator of the audio version） is Suzanne Simard， who became known to the general public after her article about communication between trees appeared in Nature in 1997， introducing the term ‘the wood-wide web’。 I read it as a part of monthly reading for June 2022 at Non Fiction Book Club group。It isn’t the usual pop-sci book and I admit， it irked me at the start， but later I decided that maybe the author was right， mixing here scie This is an unusual non-fic popular science book。 The author （and narrator of the audio version） is Suzanne Simard， who became known to the general public after her article about communication between trees appeared in Nature in 1997， introducing the term ‘the wood-wide web’。 I read it as a part of monthly reading for June 2022 at Non Fiction Book Club group。It isn’t the usual pop-sci book and I admit， it irked me at the start， but later I decided that maybe the author was right， mixing here science and her personal biography。 So， in addition to her discoveries we， readers， also follow her biography， getting info about her family， including tragic deaths of her family’s members， her illness， her husband and daughters。 She started her career as an experimenter in the Canadian Forest Service。 In the 1970s and 80s they tried to find a way to restore forests after wood cutting and went following in the path of the agricultural green revolution employing pesticides， fertilizers， and high-yield crop varieties， were finding that these conditions spawned the fastest-growing crops， and the British Columbia policy folks believed they could copy this to achieve the highest potential for pine growth。 She guessed （correctly） that monocultures may actually weaken forests。It is interesting to think how can we make experiments with trees – after all a lot of trees now feeding the lumber industry may be a century or even older – most scientists cannot allow spending their whole life on an experiment。 So experiment design and careful exaggerations based on available few data points are paramount。 In this book， she spends quite a lot of time giving details on the design， which is more usual for academic papers than pop-sci books。 However， she does it quite accessible to the general public， like me。Several of her main findings:Older trees （Mother trees） care for their young， supplying the with minerals， carbon， nitrogen， and water; they do it more actively if their own existence is threatened， e。g。 by bug infestation。 Trees disperse most of their seeds in their small local area， meaning that many individuals in an immediate neighborhood are related。 These parent trees shared some of the genes of the trees around them， and sharing carbon to increase the survival of their seedlings。Trees of different species （e。g。 alder and pine， paper birch and Douglas firs） can share/trade water and nutrients， so while alder seems to be leaving very little water in August for use by the pine seedlings， the alder uses tons of water to fuel the transformation of nitrogen to ammonium。 The soil data show that the alder releases a lot of nitrogen back to the soil when its leaves senesced and decomposed in the fall。 The pine roots could then snatch up the released nitrogen， so alder ‘pays’ for the water。Forests are complex adaptive systems， comprised of many species that adjust and learn， that include legacies such as old trees and seed banks and logs， and these parts interact in intricate dynamic networks， with information feedbacks and self-organization。 Systems-level properties emerge from this that add up to more than the sum of the parts。 The properties of an ecosystem breathe with health， productivity， beauty， spirit。 Clean air， clean water， fertile soil。 The forest is wired for healing in this way， and we can help if we follow her lead。A very interesting and unusual pop-sci book。 。。。more
Andrew
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An impressive work by an impressive person。 This book was recommended to me by a neighbor who shares my concerns about how our condominium association landscapes。 We live in a watershed and heavily forested area， but we maintain about 25 acres of lawn using high doses of chemicals， take down lots of trees that seem to be diseased or threaten a building， and spray ornamental trees with pesticides。 My neighbor has far more background on how to restore forests than I do， so he suggested I read this An impressive work by an impressive person。 This book was recommended to me by a neighbor who shares my concerns about how our condominium association landscapes。 We live in a watershed and heavily forested area， but we maintain about 25 acres of lawn using high doses of chemicals， take down lots of trees that seem to be diseased or threaten a building， and spray ornamental trees with pesticides。 My neighbor has far more background on how to restore forests than I do， so he suggested I read this book。 Glad he did。 I got a much better understanding of the importance of forest diversity。 The most informative aspect was learning how different types of trees share energy and support each other。 Most surprising was how they seem to recognize their kin。 In the case of the "mother tree"， it recognizes offspring。 Beyond the science， this book is also a memoir。 Simard has faced many challenges。 A woman scientist in a field dominated by men。 A marriage to a man that ended and then finding love with a woman。 A difficult battle with cancer。Simard's spiritual connection with the forest has been a constant。 She anthropomorphizes them。 Powerful fear of what was being done to the forests。 She combines a deep intellectual curiosity， scientific knowhow seek enlightenment。 She comes to realize that gross misconceptions of what make forests succeed。 A remarkable book。 。。。more
Mehtap exotiquetv
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Wood， wide， web。 Diese Begriff rüttelte in den 90ern die Wissenschaftscommunity dank der Studienarbeit der Autorin weltweit auf。 Das erste Mal， wurde wissenschaftlich belegt， dass Pilze eine Art Netzwerk unter der Erde bilden und die Kommunikation von Bäumen unterstützen。 Diese und weiter Geschichte aus ihrer Arbeit als Wissenschaftlerin erzählt die Autorin， mit vielen persönlichen Anekdoten aus ihrem Privatleben。
Kelly Furniss
，
This was a fascinating study of how trees communicate through the mycelium network， maintaining healthy forests and fighting climate change。 A great mixture of scientific writing & a personal memoir。 The author talks of her life， family and experiences and research of forestry in Canada。 A book you will learn a lot from and one I would recommend。My thanks go to the publisher， author and Netgalley in providing this arc in return for honest review。
Polly Riley
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Really enjoyed this account of a Canadian forester's genuine connection to trees and their relationships。 Really enjoyed this account of a Canadian forester's genuine connection to trees and their relationships。 。。。more
Viki Sonntag
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Good old fashioned story telling and the scientific findings are incredibly exciting， echoing indigenous wisdom to which Simard gives proper due。 I deeply love the view of forest as community。
Chris
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This is the memoir of Suzanne Simard。 Simard has roots in the Pacific Northwest。 She comes from a family of loggers and ranchers who have made their living off the land and its forests。 She starts off working in the forestry industry herself， managing the recovery of clear cut plantations， but along the way her research led to remarkable discoveries about the interrelatedness of the forest ecology。 Her research begins to challenge the orthodox approach to tree farming， which assumed that trees f This is the memoir of Suzanne Simard。 Simard has roots in the Pacific Northwest。 She comes from a family of loggers and ranchers who have made their living off the land and its forests。 She starts off working in the forestry industry herself， managing the recovery of clear cut plantations， but along the way her research led to remarkable discoveries about the interrelatedness of the forest ecology。 Her research begins to challenge the orthodox approach to tree farming， which assumed that trees for harvest will grow back better in clear cut plantations if you first clear out all the undesirable understory trees， birch for example， that compete with the fir for nutrients and sunlight。 Simard's research challenged the orthodox view that the relationship between the firs and their neighbors in the forest is essentially one of competition。 Instead， she showed that there is cooperation between trees， too， and that the cooperation is essential to the forest ecology。 Simard faces lots of push back from the policy makers in forestry in Canada and this story is partly the story of how new ideas in science are met first with hostility or contempt。 It is also the story of a woman trying to make her way in field dominated by men。 She faces difficulty in being taken seriously， she has to struggle to overcome her own shyness to make a more forceful challenge to the orthodox ways that are setting future forests up to fail。 In her personal life she also struggles with the challenges of a woman raising a family and also trying to establish her own career。 She struggles to manage her own desires and career alongside the sometimes conflicting wishes of her her partner and the father of her two daughters。 As her memoir continues， Simard changes and evolves as her understanding of the forest changes and evolves。 Later in the book she links her own thoughts on the ecology of the forest with that of indigenous peoples and there is a tone in her writing， and in her research， that is more philosophical。 She feels a connection between herself as a mother and the mother trees that form the nodes in the forest network。 She worries more about climate change and her world view seems to have become more attuned to academia and a bit more left-leaning than in her early career。 One of the best aspects of this read for me was the story of how Simard and her field of study evolved together。 I also appreciated learning about the work。 Seeing how she sets out to test her ideas about forest ecology was very interesting。 In that regard it reminded me quite a lot of another book I recently read， Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl。This book is not recommended to everyone， however。 If you are primarily interested in the science of it all， you may be disappointed， as I was at times。 She talks about the science on a fairly superficial level。 She has many descriptions of digging up root networks and finding them encrusted with different types of fungi。 She names the fungi again and again and tells what their presence means to the trees in general， but she does not get down into the mechanisms that drive the system。 Nothing here about how fungi actually colonize the root tips of the trees。 Nothing here about cell biology。 There are probably other books that would be better if that is your primary interest。 。。。more
Carly Friedman
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At first， I wasn't sure that I would enjoy this book。 The beginning felt a bit disjointed and uneven。 However， I ended up enjoying it much more than I did at first。 I appreciated learning about all of her research on how trees are connected to each other and the rest of the forest。 The level of detail she included about her research methods， findings， and implications were just right。 It was extremely fascinating！I also liked how she mixed some biographical information with her research。 Her ref At first， I wasn't sure that I would enjoy this book。 The beginning felt a bit disjointed and uneven。 However， I ended up enjoying it much more than I did at first。 I appreciated learning about all of her research on how trees are connected to each other and the rest of the forest。 The level of detail she included about her research methods， findings， and implications were just right。 It was extremely fascinating！I also liked how she mixed some biographical information with her research。 Her reflections on the importance of mothering， with trees and her own family， were interesting and insightful。 Her resilience during her battle with breast cancer， Kelly's death， and divorce was inspiring。Very glad I read this！ 。。。more
Daniel
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