Description
How do you open to sensory awareness in nature and the capacity to be guided by the intelligence of the natural world?
‘I realised the tree was in charge of the land, not me. The pōhutukawa will decide what happens here.’
What readers are saying about The Pōhutukawa Journal
As Juliet Batten tells her tale, a new world unfolds. This book is a stunning mix of contemplation and narration in one sparkling package. Be prepared for a powerful revelation and delightful twist in the story.
—Murray Edmond, poet and author of The Aucklanders
Trees are teachers, and the author recounts deeply personal lessons about resilience learned through an encounter with a venerable pōhutukawa. Two journeys intersect in this book: one a descent into a bureaucratic labyrinth, the other a liberating discovery of the sacred within a fragment of Auckland forest. The outcome is unexpected, and glorious.
—Kennedy Warne, author of Tuhoe and Soundings
‘The writing is beautiful and evocative. I am moved and inspired by this book.’
— Jono Owen, writer
‘Trees and ancestors assume different forms than living persons, but they have a presence in our lives that makes it perfectly natural to relate to them as living souls, needing periodic gifts, communications, acknowledgement. ‘
—Michael Jackson, Senior Research Fellow in World Religions, Harvard Divinity School
‘In The Pōhutukawa Journal, Juliet stands like the ancient trees . . . looking at the world from a deeply grounded place.
As we follow her work to defend an ancient pōhutukawa, the tree becomes symbolic of larger ecological predicaments. Juliet demonstrates the urgency and complexities of fighting for what we love in this world.
In this book we learn what it is to stay engaged, stay awake and stay in love with the world, despite everything. A deep, elegiac depiction of both humanity and nature.‘
—Helen Lehndorf, author
‘This wise, poignant book deals with the mysteries and stark realities of life and death, ageing and regeneration, resilience and remembering, love, joy, grief and hope. Juliet’s intimate, poetic descriptions, born of her sensory alertness to the magic of the natural world, means we, too, thrill to its magic.
All who would be friends with the earth — especially with trees — will love this third journal in Juliet’s Seasons of Life trilogy.
—Dr. Kathryn Rountree, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology.
I walked alongside the author as I read The Pōhutukawa Journal, seeing the world through her acute observations and thoughtful reflections. The pōhutukawa tree with its age, wisdom, and resilience anchored me at the centre of a journey buffeted by the winds of loss, environmental destruction, and an impenetrable bureaucracy. This book is a prompt to reflect on our own resilience and the need for commitment to serving the earth and future generations in an uncertain world.
—Martin Sutcliffe, retired Arts Manager
I saw the natural and human worlds through the prism of Juliet’s consciousness and experience. The lyrical writing poignantly expresses her feelings and concerns as she traversed some difficult territory. I particularly loved the descriptions of the trees, birds, weather patterns, and the whenua. I have seen the amazing process that pōhutukawa go through in falling and rising again by their own efforts, sheltering whole colonies of other life forms as they move and change.
—Stephen Grace, Retreat Centre manager
‘In The Pōhutukawa Journal Juliet draws from the fullness of her life experience to gently and subtly offer her wisdom to her readers. She expands everyday observations into a meditative exploration of the present, whether a new fern or an ancient pōhutukawa. I came away calmer, more aware, and more appreciative of the wondrous world we share. I also drew strength from her courage to persist in the face of injustice.’
—Estelle Mendelsohn, retired psychologist and psychodramatist.
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