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Becoming Forest opens 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
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
“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.
Dedication
Foreword
2021
Chapter 1: Forest
Chapter 2: The Gift
Chapter 3: The Buddha and The Bodhi Tree
Chapter 4: A Conversation with Greta
Chapter 5: Muir Woods
2023
Chapter 6: Bodhgaya
Chapter 7: The Bodhi Tree
Chapter 8: Dorje
Chapter 9: On the Road
Chapter 10: Under the Banyan Tree
Chapter 11: On the Road Again
Chapter 12: Vulture Peak
2053
Chapter 13: Forest
Chapter 14: Headland
Chapter 15: Back at the Cottage
Chapter 16: Full Moon