How I Became a Tree

“With . . . tender attentiveness to the non-human, [this] narrative speaks of more compassionate and resilient modes of existence than those devised by the perennially agitated makers of history.”—Pankaj Mishra, The Guardian, “Summer Reading”

“Beautiful. . . . Throughout the collection, Roy weaves together science, nature, personal narrative, literature, sociology, and more to keep the reader turning pages—and to turn us all into tree-lovers.”—Kateri Kramer, The Rumpus

A Publishers Weekly Holiday Gift Guide 2021 selection

“Not just a meditation on trees but also an exploration of how they have functioned in literary history, theology, and this world of ours.”—Emily Temple, Literary Hub

“The takeaway from How I Became a Tree might simply be: We would all do well by ourselves and for the world if we lived more like plants. . . . [Such] insights may appear, at first, as simply philosophical or even fantasy, but this is a book for looking deeper.”—Jon M. Sweeney, Spirituality & Practice

“Roy’s book interweaves Indian spiritual, scientific, and cultural traditions with those from other worlds. . . . The intellectual tenacity of her relentless questioning of the whole system of human values is as radical as it is unassuming.”—Olga V. Solovieva, Critical Inquiry

A Spirituality & Practice Best Book of 2021

“Sumana Roy has written—grown—a radiant and wondrous book, which roots and branches in complex, provocative ways, helping us recognize trees for the ‘strange strangers’ they are, companion-citizens with which we think and remember, yes, but also alien beings that draw love, hate, indifference, and even lust from us humans.”—Robert Macfarlane, author of The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot

“This is one of the most original, delightful, inspiring books I have read in a long time. It will enchant and move the reader with its unique imaginative mindset, its humorous touches, and its defiance of convention.”—Mary Evelyn Tucker, Yale University

“A poetic, probing meditation on how trees are, to paraphrase Lévi-Strauss, ‘good to think with.’ Sumana Roy gives us a fresh and surprising look at a topic as old as the Epic of Gilgamesh, or to put it another way, almost as old as the oldest living trees.”—Robert Moor, bestselling author of On Trails: An Exploration

“A genuinely exceptional work that is as poetic as it is scholarly—quirky, enlightening and enriching.”—Chandak Sengoopta, Birbeck College, University of London

Praise for Sumana Roy:
 
“A one-of-its-kind meditation. . . . Deliciously engaging.”—Supriya Sharma, Hindustan Times
 
“Sumana Roy’s writing brims with rare originality.”—Areeb Ahmad, The Medley
 
“An ode to all that is unnoticed, ill, neglected and yet resilient. . . . Roy’s true spiritual ancestor . . . is Annie Dillard. . . . Both Roy and Dillard craft remarkable, poignant sentences. Both have the ability to make mundane situations lead up to profound, even apocalyptic consequences.”—Rini Barman, Wire India
 
“Sumana Roy’s book shimmers like silver poplar leaves.”—Sylvia Straube, Frankfurter Rundschau
 
“A book like a jungle: from the wide sky to sticky leaves and unsightly thorns, everything is included.”—Susanne Billig, Deutschlandfunk Kultur