Have you ever read a book and loved it so much that you just want to carry it around and share with others like yourself? I have, and it’s Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature (2025), by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian. It’s like someone wrote a book just for me about who I could have become if I were of my children’s generation.
Kaishian (obviously of Armenian descent!) has created a jewel of a book that’s partly memoir, partly philosophy, and partly science. That’s just how I like my book jewels by people who are more comfortable in nature than with people and who see the world as consisting of networks and gradients, not disconnected dichotomies.
The memoirs about her embrace of her uniqueness and “other”-ness as she grew up are fascinating and so liberating. She figured out (after trial and error) who she was and got to be that person! Life goals! She accepts her queerness and fluid gender identity and loves it. Oh how I wish we’d had opportunities to explore options when I was younger. We got to be girls and boys, and a bit later could be gay or straight, but not anything in between. I’m happy for Kaishian!
I’m also happy that she got to become a mycologist and share how fungi are connected and reproduce, because I think there’s so much more to learn. In the book, she also explains how many life forms on earth have options other than heterosexual relationships. I knew a lot, but it was fun learning how many options there are in the world! Really interesting stuff with excellent end notes, too.
A word of warning. I know people who will find the vocabulary and style of this book a little too woke. She does refer to North America as Turtle Island and prefers to use Native American names for bodies of water. I enjoy it, as do I enjoy the narrative about how awful European settlers were to the land and people here. But I know some readers would be put off by her choices.
You can’t help but feel a kinship with Kaishian if you were ever a wild child of the woods and fields or, perhaps, have your own woodland “sit spot” to return to regularly for grounding and peace. You know, if you’re me.
Finishing this book today soothed my soul, helped me feel less alone, and reminded me, as I often need to be reminded, that we’re each a little weird, a bit different, and our own kind of person. I’m so glad.
Today’s tarot card is a familiar face.
It’s a good reminder that I have all I need in life. I think it’s time to share.
The Hermits' Rest 