A review by morebedsidebooks
The Way Through the Woods: Of Mushrooms and Mourning by Long Litt Woon

informative

5.0

“Go for a walk in a nearby forest. As you meet the forest and the forest meets you, try to leave behind all the hurly-burly of daily life and concentrate, instead, on tuning in to the rhythm and frequency of the forest. Let it become a part of you. Then you will relax, your pulse will slacken, and you will slip into gathering mode. Listen to the chorus of the birds. Smell the essential odors of the forest, the blend of dark earth and delicate floral notes. Feel the soft, mossy carpet under your feet. Nibble on a wood sorrel leaf and feel your appetite instantly quicken. Then look down and turn all your attention to the lush forest floor in all its hundred shades of green: moss, lichen, bracken, and leaves. Bring your mushroom gaze into focus and gradually home in on the details. Is that another shade of green there? Is there something hiding under those dry, brown leaves, peeking shyly out at you?” 



The Way Through the Woods by Long Litt Woon translated to English by Barbara J. Haveland is a beautiful and touching memoir on how its author found comfort and a new direction getting into mushroom hunting after the sudden passing of her husband. I too am fascinated by mushrooms and that is the chief aspect of the book, very informative but also approachable with lovely passages enveloping you in nature. Especially interesting is the different guides and attitudes one might encounter towards these fungi. Mycology may be a science, but there are still mysteries and an art to mushrooms. 

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