more of a autobiography than I expected, but very interesting and easy to read. Enough details of processes in the forest to give course for more research

This book was such a treat. Really made me appreciate the wonders of the forest. A science book that also tells such a personal story is such an effective way to spread important information

A tender, enticing story of the reciprocity of trees and a woman who devoted her life to studying them. Last high school car ride book with Lily.

I've read quite a few natural history/popular science narratives, and many suffer from a few different pitfalls. Sometimes there's an attempt at poeticism at the expense of scientific communication, sometimes the author is overly focused on their own personal narrative, sometimes there is too much jargon to the point where it feels you are reading a textbook or academic journal.

Suzanne Simard's "Finding the Mother Tree" fell for none of these pitfalls! Simard found the perfect combination of integrating her personal narrative and presenting her scientific discovery in an effective way that makes sense to most readers without compromising the science. I found her perspective and approach to scientific research very compelling! I want to be just like her when I grow up.

It pains me a little to say that I've preferred other descriptions/representations of Simard's research more than her own writing (Entangled Life and The Overstory come to mind). This research is endlessly fascinating to me, but this book was a slog to get through.

Came together in the final third or so.

I thought I already knew her story, having read Powers' Overstory, but I gave it a try after a friend gifted this book to me for my bday. So glad I did! Simard weaves together her personal story and the paradigm changing discoveries she makes for a compelling narrative. Despite the revolutionary nature of her discoveries about the forest, she's ridiculously humble. The contrast between her own narrative and the character I assume Powers based on her is telling. Simard's story is one of subtlety and nuance, which Powers kind of pushes into an (also powerful) message of doom. Anyhow, I appreciated both books and especially the struggle Simard faced as a woman in male-dominated field advocating a very anti-patriarchal new paradigm.