The Healing Wisdom of the Forest by Anthony D. Fredericks

 

Subtitled Timeless Lessons of Renewal, Tranquility and Joy, this is the latest book from Anthony D. Fredericks, professor emeritus of education at York College, in York, Pennsylvania where he taught general science and creative writing courses for 30 years.

The book is prefaced with the author's account of a particularly memorable childhood encounter with a mother deer and her fawn, which sparked his lifelong interest in forests. The remaining chapters share what he has learned over the years from his times in forests, starting from his childhood camping and fishing trips to the John Muir Wilderness in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. (I myself enjoyed an unforgettable trip to this area too, when I was a child!)

Each brief chapter shares something that the author has learned from time spent in forests, and from the lives of notable individual trees, and then gives us a practical tip for life, a journalling prompt and a snippet to think about. For example, the starting point of observing 'burls' (age related imperfections) on an ancient bald cypress tree, leads to a passage about accepting our own imperfections. The practical exercise in this chapter is to pay close attention to the differences between trees and the imperfections of individual trees; the journalling prompt is to think about your own imperfections more as unique aspects of yourself and the topic to think about is to consider the imperfections of the box elder, whose "Brittle limbs, twisted trunks susceptible to rot, and dull yellow leaves often put this species in the “ugly tree” category."  

Interesting / inspiring quotes from various writers are scattered among the chapters, my favourite (given that I've done wildlife surveys of Edinburgh's cemeteries) being "Forests may be gorgeous, but there is nothing more alive than a tree that learns how to grow in a cemetery." from Andrea Gibson.

I really enjoyed the way that Fredericks used observations from nature as a starting point both for investigating nature itself in greater detail but also thinking about ourselves more deeply and seeing ourselves as being more integrated with the nature we see around us. This dual approach gives this book a particular texture and richness, that gives it an appeal that I don't find in standard self help texts, though having said that, it does become a little repetitive at times in terms of the life lessons offered. 

This book is designed to be read slowly, one brief chapter every week or something so that you can spend time thinking about the lessons the trees (and the author) are offering you. 

The Healing Wisdom of the Forest by Anthony D. Fredericks, published (2025) by  Health Communications, Inc.