Patricia Westerford Quotes

“The stories are old and fluid, as old as humankind. They’re somehow familiar, as if she were born knowing them.”

“She remembers the Buddha’s words: A tree is a wondrous thing that shelters, feeds, and protects all living things. It even offers shade to the axmen who destroy it. And with those words, she has her book’s end.”

“You and the tree in your backyard come from a common ancestor. A billion and a half years ago, the two of you parted ways.”

“Remember? People aren’t the apex species they think they are. Other creatures—bigger, smaller, slower, faster, older, younger, more powerful—call the shots, make the air, and eat sunlight. Without them, nothing.”

“She’s sure, on no evidence whatsoever, that trees are social creatures. It’s obvious to her: motionless things that grow in mass mixed communities must have evolved ways to synchronize with one another.”