Picture of author.
8 Works 316 Membros 13 Críticas 1 Favorited

About the Author

Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a botanist, medical and agricultural researcher, lecturer, and self-defined "renegade scientist" in the fields of classical botany, medical biochemistry, organic chemistry, and nuclear chemistry. She lives in Ontario, Canada

Includes the name: Diana Beresford-Kroeger

Image credit: Power of One Woman

Obras por Diana Beresford-Kroeger

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Data de nascimento
1944
Sexo
female

Membros

Críticas

I was on the fence about rating this 3 or 4 stars, but decided to go with 4 since it might encourage others to read it. B-K's credentials are impressive, but she does tend to walk to the edge of credibility with some of her claims. Nonetheless, there is much to be learned in this book; much to be enjoyed; and bit to be horrified by.
[Audiobook note: B-K reads the book, herself. And this is a good thing. Her lilting delivery makes the whole thing much more personal. However, even played at 125% speed, the delivery was often a bit slow.]… (mais)
 
Assinalado
Treebeard_404 | 5 outras críticas | Jan 23, 2024 |
Honestly, this book kind of drove me crazy. On the one hand, she's fascinating. I didn't love her audiobook narration, but what an interesting person with such a interesting background. I loved hearing the science, I loved hearing her relate that to simple and concrete ways of living. I also... hesitate to go all in with someone who has lined their home with foil, and let's be real, she's an aristocrat who's using her money for good, so there's a little bit of stretch to try and believe that how she lives is how _I_ could live.

One the other hand, she is ALL ABOUT TREES, so I think she's a good candidate for sainthood and perhaps all of the governments in the world should immediately do what she says about preserving forests, restoring rare trees and creating healthier human habitats in cities. And I totally want to carpet my yard in pet-healthy thyme to make my cat happy.

She might be kind of loopy, I can't really tell. Or she's absolutely one of the most brilliant minds out there today. Perche no los dos?

Advanced listening copy provided by Libro.fm
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
jennybeast | 1 outra crítica | Dec 4, 2023 |
This book was more autobiography/memoir, and I was surprised that it wasn't categorised as such when I initially picked up the review copy to read. I definitely think this book is about 90% autobiography through a life that's pitched as pretty traumatising even though she ends up very friendly with one of her main maltreating caregivers, and about 10% ancient Celtic wisdom and scientific facts about trees, the forest, the soil, fungi etc. I really enjoyed the moments when Beresford-Kroeger shared the wisdom that she was learning, or the simple joy in reading books with her family member Pat (though it was difficult to ignore that he starved her to the point of fainting regularly when she was a child).

Sometimes it felt like this book wasn't entirely sure what it wanted to be, but even so, moving from chapter to chapter was still compelling. The book isn't told in a wholly linear fashion, and sometimes the focus is more on scientific knowledge, and sometimes it's more on Irish/Celtic wisdom. There's a couple of uncomfortable moments of 'white woman saviour' elements happening when the author makes a point of speaking about the land, and an Indigenous person comes up simply to say they agree with her and 'she speaks with us' - but there's no real effort to promote, centre or name Indigenous voices or peoples of the land she's speaking on behalf of.

Beresford-Kroeger's writing style is gentle and easy to read. It's not opaque or dense, and just about anyone can pick this up and enjoy the book. But I do think it needs to be clear that this isn't really a book on Celtic wisdom, it's an autobiography with a few bits and pieces of Celtic knowledge, and a comprehensive section on the Ogham right at the end. The concept of the global bioplan was interesting, though not written with accessibility and disability in mind, and I feel like the subject needs its own book, rather than to be folded into a work that is predominantly an autobiography/memoir.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
PiaRavenari | 5 outras críticas | Aug 4, 2023 |
Short essays of everything related to garden, forest, home and beyond, anchored in Diana Beresford-Kroeger's signature anchoring in science, traditional wisdom and a hint of magic.
 
Assinalado
PlanCultivateCreate | 1 outra crítica | Aug 8, 2022 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
8
Membros
316
Popularidade
#74,771
Avaliação
4.2
Críticas
13
ISBN
24
Marcado como favorito
1

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