How can I sum up this little gem of a book: amazing, inspirational, practical, thought provoking...I could go on and on!
Trees are amazing things and Carol Day's book provides a fantastic way of connecting with them and, through them, the whole of nature. There are a number of things I particularly like about the way this book is set out: it is a book that can be worked through in order (100 days spent with 10 trees), or it can be dipped into at any point. Each chapter takes you on a journey of the tree's systems, such as the trunk (which includes an exercise to connect with the tree using your senses) and seeds (taking seeds from the tree to seed your own creativity). I found the 'roots' section of each chapter very useful, as it includes lore and information on the tree itself which helps to increase the connection made - I love a bit of background information to help give a context. There is also an exercise for each tree which involves drumming. Carol calls the drum frame a 'tree hoop' to communicate with other realms - which resonates so much with me, and is an amazing way of communicating with tree systems.
What I really enjoyed most of all, was that Carol Day does not blindly follow the same old path of writing about the trees of the Ogham (as valid as that is). She has picked trees that resonate with her, such as hornbeam and sequoia. For me, this gives a framework: after working through these trees, it is possible to choose 10 more trees you might feel drawn to, using the pattern of the journey Carol sets out, and therefore expanding your own practice and connection with trees. This is a definite 5/5 - if I could give it 10 I would!
As Carol says: 'When we pause to listen and hear the trees in our letters, perhaps we arrive at the simple truth that we are nature too.'
100% recommended and out to buy now!