Review: To Speak for the Trees
Beresford-Kroeger, Diana (2019) To Speak for the Trees: My Life’s Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.
This book was the July 2026 Book Club selection for Alberta Wilderness Association.
A book about an Irish woman’s healing connection to the land.
“My host, sitting at the kitchen table, would sing a song of ancient times in Gaelic to passage me into their house. They’d offer a cup of tea, which would be prepared and poured as carefully as in a Chinese tea ceremony, and then I’d sit and they might flit around the room reciting a line of poetry, or a few - the beginning of a process of bouncing the Gaelic language back and forth between us.”
As an environmentalist with some Irish heritage, I could easily relate to this book. My love of tea made me read this paragraph (above) several times and I started to feel that bond. It was perhaps the beginning of my deep appreciation for this book.
Lisheens, Ireland
As a former navigator I always need to place in my mind the location of the story - here Lisheens can be found NNW of Cork. (Google Maps)
This book is an intimate portrait of the life of a girl growing up in Ireland - an orphan, adopted by a community who gave her stability, knowledge and love, that she in turn has shared with every reader of her book. I enjoyed the mythology and her connection to place and the trees. It reminded me of my own upbringing in northern British Columbia and my fascination with the forest. The hours I spent outside watching the plants grow and sleeping on moss covered hills. It also made me sad for the loss of forests in Ireland, and the current decimation of forests I witness in Alberta. This book made me a bit emotional.
“This type of wood is called ‘bog oak’ and sculptors favour it. Gidl, you’re looking at all that remains of the great forests of Ireland.
I had now learned about the English occupation and the loss of the trees, but here at my feet was the first proof. Proof not only that Ireland had once been forested-a confirmation that was amazing enough on its own-but that human beings were the reason the forests were gone.”
The final section (Part II) of the book ‘The Celtic Alphabet of Trees’ contains the author’s notes on the Ogham script. It is a fascinating addition to the book and demonstrates the author’s connection with her woodland life. It will be a good reference tool I am sure.
I will leave you with this final quote. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and you will be amazed by what you can do!
“They will realize, as I did, that even the impossible can be accomplished if you’re willing to take the first step and give it everything you’ve got.”
I really enjoyed this book. I don’t often keep books anymore - usually choosing to send them along by donating them to book sales, but I think I will be keeping this one on my shelf. I feel I will reach for it again and again. I think that denotes a pretty significant recommendation! 📗
