Treefaring: From fear to freedom among the trees

How the work of Donna Fisher has changed my perspective, about life, writing, and connecting to Mother Earth

Time on earth didn’t equate to understanding it. There were plenty of folks with walking frames, but not a single clue.

—Donna Fisher, Queentide - Chapter 1

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The forest has always been a place of magic, mystery, and transformation.

Today, I write with that same magic stirring in my fingertips—a magic nurtured by Donna Fisher’s Treefaring.

Donna Fisher's work has influenced not only my writing but also how I live and understand the world, teaching me about resilience, connection, and the transformative power of nature.

From Childhood Fear to a Forest Sanctuary

Growing up, forests frightened me—places of shadows, wolves, and unknown threats.

My fear grew roots, and it wasn’t until I started interacting with nature that the fears abated.

I remember walking through a local forest called Thornton Bales, known to the residents of Newmarket as "99 Steps" because of the wooden staircase that leads into and out of the many trails.

It became a place of solace and youthful misadventures—a backdrop for late-night drinking with friends, secret trysts, laughter shared with peers, and even games of hide-and-seek.

These memories remain vivid, etched into my mind like love notes carved into the bark of a tree.

Surprisingly, these woods, once intimidating, became my refuge.

Donna Fisher’s Treefaring reveals how the forest shapes her creative process, health, and worldview, rooted in the healing practice of shinrin-yoku (forest therapy)¹.

She describes herself as a treefarer—someone who finds wisdom and beauty in every twist of bark and cluster of leaves—and her work, supported by nature's calming effects, inspires me to find magic in stillness, look deeper, and find comfort in what I once feared.

When a Branch Falls from the Family Tree

Donna’s reflection in When a Branch Falls from the Family Tree struck at a deep level within me.

She wrote about losing her father—a steady branch of her family tree.

The grief, while inevitable, was a branch snapping and falling to the ground, leaving a void in its place.

Her loss reminded me of my own experiences with my mother’s father passing—a constant presence in my life, that eventually aged and weakened due to a lengthy battle with prostate cancer.

Donna's words in Echo In The Boughs perfectly capture the emotions I felt during this experience, articulating the sense of resilience and renewal that arose from moments of loss and transformation.

Here’s a excerpt from the poem:

The scorching fires and relentless saws cannot destroy me.
They create a space to be filled.
With the evergreen memories I carry like seeds in my dust and ash.
That grow into twisting stories of resilience and resurrection.
Shelved in my wood for millennia.

Loss, while painful, often makes room for new growth. My Opa was the great tree in our family garden, and his absence has left a gap we still haven't fully recovered from.

Yet, there is still a sense of shade and nurturing that remains—his spirit, alongside my Oma’s and those we’ve lost, lingers around us, offering comfort in subtle, enduring ways.

The themes Donna weaves throughout her reflections symbolize resilience and renewal, even amid loss.

They have given me hope, helping me find comfort in the passing of my Opa and other loved ones.

Recognizing the Strength and Nurture of Mothers

Until recently, I hadn’t understood the full depth of a mother’s sacrifices—those sleepless nights, the relentless love, and the strength hidden behind her exhaustion.

Watching mothers around me—partners, friends, colleagues—endure these struggles opened my eyes to how much I had taken my own mother for granted.

In This Too Shall Pass, Donna Fisher captured the essence of motherhood—the exhaustion, the doubt, and the desire to escape.

I recognized myself in her words, especially the longing to run from a life that felt smaller than what I had once imagined.

Her reflections brought clarity and a sense of emotional security, much like my mother’s love has over the years.

This newfound perspective left me deeply grateful for my mother’s nurturing, her sacrifices, and her powerful love—love I often took for granted but now see with renewed appreciation.

Donna’s words also taught me that there is beauty in staying, in weathering the storms, and in finding the magic in everyday moments.

The Interconnected Fight for Feminism and Environmental Justice

Donna Fisher’s novel Queentide vividly illustrates the link between feminism and environmental justice, portraying a feminist uprising against patriarchal oppression while highlighting the need to reclaim our connection to the earth.

Her work emphasizes that struggles against patriarchy, capitalism, and colonialism are inherently linked, as both women and nature have been exploited by these systems.

Queentide calls on readers not just to be angry about injustice but to use that anger for action, aiming for a world where women and the planet are respected and allowed to thrive.

In Why the Fight for Madam President is the Same Fight for Mother Earth, Donna makes clear that the movements for gender equality and environmental justice share a common goal—resisting exploitation and reclaiming value.

Donna believes the timing for Queentide is crucial, as more people are waking up to these deep connections.

By inspiring hope and action, her work urges us to fight for both feminist and environmental change, as the fight for women’s rights is also a fight for the future of our planet.

Reclaiming Magic and Resilience

Through Treefaring, Donna has taught me that the forest is not just a place of growth but of healing—a reminder of the cycles of life, death, and rebirth.

The practice of shinrin-yoku, or forest therapy, is often referenced by Donna, highlighting the healing power of immersing oneself in nature; after all, we are creatures deeply connected to the forest.

I feel a profound sense of connection to the metaphors people have used throughout history to relate to trees.

This connection goes back, for me, to the Garden of Eden with its two significant trees, as well as various cultural mythologies and Indigenous stories centered on trees².

Such imagery makes it easy for me to see the magic and wonder in Donna’s words, and in embracing these perspectives, I began to see myself as part of something larger—rooted, connected, and growing alongside every tree and leaf.

Donna’s reflections on motherhood remind me that strength is not always about action; sometimes it is about waiting; to bear fruit when the time is right—the strength of stillness, in letting the storms come and trusting they will pass.

Invitation to Become Treefarers

Now, I call myself a treefarer, just like Donna.

I enter the woods, often with my wife, not with fear but with reverence—eager to learn the lessons hidden within the branches.

Donna’s work invites us to step into the forest, to connect deeply and see the woods as a place of light and possibility.

The forest embodies resilience, and each fallen branch makes space for new growth.

Let us embrace resilience, transforming grief into growth, fear into curiosity, and longing into action, as we grow together with deepening roots, expanding branches, and open hearts for whatever the future holds.

I’m curious to know, have you ever found yourself longing for a deeper connection to nature—a place to root yourself and grow beyond your fears?

What might change for you if you embraced the forest not as a place of darkness, but as one of light, growth, and resilience?

1. Shinrin-yoku (forest therapy) has proven benefits for mental and physical well-being, including reduced anxiety, improved mood, enhanced immune function, and lower hypertension, as supported by three articles available at Springer Link:

• Shinrin Yoku: Forest Bathing — Forest bathing describes an immersion in forests in order to slowly and consciously absorb all impressions there, to gather new strength, to experience recreation and relaxation from everyday life.

• Digital shinrin-yoku: do nature experiences in virtual reality reduce stress and increase well-being as strongly as similar experiences in a physical forest?

• Effects of Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) and Nature Therapy on Mental Health: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis — A systematic review and meta-analysis of shinrin-yoku studies, conducted across Asia and Europe, found that while more rigorous research is needed, shinrin-yoku can effectively reduce mental health symptoms, particularly anxiety, in the short term, especially when practices like breathing, walking, and yoga are involved.

2. The symbolic connection between humans and trees is prevalent across various traditions:

• the Garden of Eden, trees represent life and moral choice

• Yggdrasil in Norse mythology symbolizes the interconnectedness of all realms

• the Bodhi Tree (Ficus religiosa) in Buddhism stands for enlightenment and spiritual growth

• Native American cultures view trees as symbols of strength and ancestral connection:

  • Cherokee's Eternal Tree of Life symbolizes strength and a connection between physical and spiritual worlds

  • Ojibwe's Manido-gizhigans serves as a guardian holding ancestral wisdom

  • Iroquois' Tree of Peace embodies unity and resilience

  • Lakota view trees as "Standing People," representing sacred beings that embody endurance and wisdom.

• Celtic mythology reveres the oak as a source of wisdom and a gateway to divine knowledge

These diverse examples underscore the timeless human desire to find growth, connection, and meaning through nature.