If to forage is to seek, to hunt, to find and to gather plants in wild places… what is it called when the plants find you?

I’m not sure I have the language to describe this book – it’s more of a feeling of resonance, of connection with place. I’ll try my best to explain.

Helen Lehndorf very kindly sent me her book last week with a note and some beautiful cards. Just by reading the title, I knew I would enjoy it. I started to read, flicking through the pages, margined with beautiful illustrated plants and filled with recipes.

I immediately found that the perspective and the language of the writing resonated with me, asking the same questions that I’m exploring deeply too.

This is not just a book about plants, recipes and how to forage (although it is a fantastic book for that). It’s also a sharing of a journey around deep reconnection and finding a feeling ancestral belonging in place.

Helen’s book is also deeply informed by permaculture and indigenous ideas, all while exploring the world of foraging. I love this intersection of ideas and her expression of this connection.

Learning permaculture has fortified values I grew up with, re-enlivening them with fresh language and given me a solid framework to apply decision-making in my life.

I highly recommend this book to anyone – from those curious about reconnecting to place, to those who want to weave the edible parts of nature into their lives, or those reflecting on their personal journeys into the landscape.

Whoever you are, this book is a wonderful insight into how much difference can be made by noticing the small things of place around you.

You can purchase copies of A Forager’s Life here.