Becoming Forest: A Story of Deep Belonging
Tess Leak
(Illustrator)
Description
with Aishling--the young Irish woman at the heart of this story--as she visits
her grandmother in California following her grandfather's death. Aishling finds
her grandfather's journal and reads about a trip he made to India years ago to
visit the original Bodhi Tree, the place where the Buddha found enlightenment.
At the end of the journal, she finds a letter addressed to
her from her grandfather asking for her help passing along his message of "deep
security" to her generation as they deal with the climate crisis and the
uncertain future ahead. Aishling goes to India to follow in her grandfather's
path to find a way of responding to his request. There she meets and falls in
love with a young Buddhist monk, who is also on a quest. As they walk together along
the roads of India, they gather unexpected and invaluable insights from each
other and come closer to the answers they both seek.
Thirty years later, Aishling's daughter Tara is
visiting her in Ireland. Tara is grieving the death of her father and also the
destruction of the forests from drought and fire. She is also searching for a way
to heal the burnout she and her friends are experiencing while working to
combat climate change. Becoming Forest
weaves together threads of Native American and Celtic spirituality with
Buddhist understanding and connection to the natural world, creating a tapestry
which holds both the despair and awakening of Aishling
Product Details
| Publisher | All Night Books |
| Publish Date | October 03, 2023 |
| Pages | 248 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Hardback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781632261045 |
| Dimensions | 8.1 X 5.7 X 1.0 inches | 0.9 pounds |
About the Author
Michael Kearney has worked as a palliative care and hospice
physician for forty years, sitting at the bedsides of people who are seriously
ill and dying. He has published three books, Mortally Wounded: Stories
of Soul Pain, Death, and Healing, which was a bestseller in Ireland; A
Place of Healing: Working with Nature and Soul at the End of Life; and The
Nest in the Stream, a nature-based spiritual memoir. Becoming Forest is his first novel.
Michael Kearney lives in Santa Barbara, California, with his
wife, Radhule, and their four-legged friends Lucy and Kitty.
Reviews
a bold, imaginative tale that serves as a handbook for psychological and
spiritual resilience in the face of imminent climate collapse. It is a moving
vision for new ways of dwelling on the earth. Combining Michael Kearney's
professional experience as a palliative care doctor and his Irish cultural
background as a lover of nature and all living things, he invites us to embrace
the wisdom of the forest. This engaging and timely work is a must for all
readers committed to radical environmental change."--Mary
Robinson, 7th President of Ireland, former UN
High Commissioner of Human Rights and former UN Secretary-General's
Special Envoy on Climate Change, founder of the
Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice, and author Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a
Sustainable Future
"Becoming Forest is filled with awe, love, and
appreciation for this phenomenon we call tree. I love how tree, in its own
right, is appearing as this call to sanity for humanity in this moment. That we
have tree - how this improves our chances!" -- Joanna Macy, environmental
activist; scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology; and
author of, World as Lover, World as Self
"How do we hold hope and despair in one hand? How do we live
honestly into the future of our planet--our home--all the while tending our
mounting and accelerating losses? Well, it turns out, there is a way, and it
could not be more urgent or accessible. In a book for the ages, for all ages,
Michael Kearney's latest, we learn how to look death in the eye and choose
life, and all just in time."--BJ Miller, hospice and
palliative medicine physician, author and speaker, best-known for his 2015 TED
Talk, "What Really Matters at the End of Life" (15 million views)
"When people don't remember who they
really are, they forget what is actually important. When people forget what's
important, they're not sure what to do. But when people remember who they are,
they know what is important, and then they know what must be done. By pointing
us towards reconnecting with Mother Earth, Becoming Forest helps us
to remember who we really are." -- Wolf Wahpepah, second
generation in his family to carry a traditional Native American inter-tribal
fireplace that receives all people for the benefit of all life. With his wife,
Lisa Wahpepah, he leads a community-based nonprofit, Descendants of the Earth,
whose mission is to preserve the integrity of traditional Native
American culture.
This beautiful book is a powerful allegory for our time, and, as well, a remarkable story of a spiritual journey that is also timeless. Written by Dr. Michael Kearney, the renowned and beloved palliative care physician, the reader is taken into the heart and life of what it means to be wise, courageous, and resilient in the face of enormous adversity. This book will inspire hope and strength in any reader.
Roshi Joan Halifax, Buddhist teacher, anthropologist, author, pioneer in the field of end-of-life care, and author of Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet
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