The Thompson Nicola Regional Library (TNRL) has announced the latest selection in its ‘One Book, One Community’ series. The program, which is described as sort of a digital book club with one book being read and discussed by participants at a time, will feature a local B.C. author this time around.
The shared reading experience will focus on a scientific memoir by award-winning author and University of British Columbia (UBC) scholar, Dr. Suzanne Simard. The memoir, titled Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest, details the world-leading expert’s of scientific discovery, family, and grief. The influence of Simard’s work ranges from small town logging communities in B.C. to movie productions in Hollywood.
“Dr. Simard is from an Interior B.C. logging family and has been a long-time resident of the region,” noted a release by the TNRL.
“More than 10 million people have viewed Simard’s TED Talks, and her work has influenced filmmakers including James Cameron and his ‘Tree of Souls’ in Avatar.”
The renowned scholar and New York Times bestselling author will visit the Merritt library on April 28 to discuss her new memoir as part of the 2023 ‘One Book, One Community’ (OBOC) program. The OBOC initiative began in 2022 with Five Little Indians by Michelle Good, with the program encouraging patrons of the TNRL to read the selected book and discuss it in self-made groups using library supplied book club kits.
This year’s pick, Finding the Mother Tree, details Simard’s personal and professional journey as a world-leading scientist. The TNRL said that Simard’s ground-breaking work on symbiotic plant communication has real implications for sustainability and stewardship of forests, a pertinent topic in the Nicola Valley.
“Simard’s scientific memoir is a moving and personal journey of discovery,” reads the release. “She brings us into the intimate world of trees, transforming the way we understand forests — not just a source of timber or pulp, but an interdependent circle of life. She teaches us how trees live social lives, communicating and caring for each other through fungal networks, sharing nutrients and information. At the center of the forest is the eldest mother tree — the one that is in tune with the rest and nurtures them.”
Finding the Mother Tree is available to TNRL patrons in various reading formats at the Merritt Library, or online by visiting www.tnrl.ca. Simard will visit the Merritt Library on April 28, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. For event details, or to join a book discussion group, visit www.tnrl.ca/oboc.
