Anacortes-based author Jane Billinghurst's latest work is an English translation of an international bestseller by German forester and author Peter Wohleleben called The Hidden Life of Trees. The book was published this week and is already listed as a bestseller on Amazon.com.
Jane tells me that the book has reviews in The Times, The Telegraph, and The Guardian. The German author has had interviews with NPR and BBC radio and television this week. Bloggers in Australia and India are also busy talking about it.
Are trees social beings? In this international bestseller, German forester and author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers.
Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining to the reader the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in his woodland.
With their newfound understanding of the delightfully complex life of trees, readers will never be able to look at a walk in the woods the same way again.
Jane Billinghurst grew up in the U.K. and has an M.A. in German and philosophy from Oxford University. She has worked in publishing all her working life, in the UK, the US, and Canada, primarily as an editor. She taught summer book editing workshops at Banff and Simon Fraser University. She is the author of six books, and the translator of four books from German, including The Hidden Life of Trees. Jane lives in Anacortes.
Meanwhile, Friends of the ACFL naturalist Denise Crowe explores our incredible community woods with insights from the book The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from a Secret World by German forester Peter Wohlleben, translated by Anacortes’ own Jane Billinghurst.
How does new science inform our understanding of the biological systems that keep our forest alive and healthy? What stories do the trees have to tell? What is our role in sustaining this exceptional modern commons? Our 2,800-acre Anacortes Community Forest Lands hold the nature of our island together. From the summits of Sugarloaf and Mount Erie to the water flowing through Ace of Hearts Creek to the sea.
September 28 at 7pm at the Anacortes Public Library.