Normally I am one of those readers who skips the preface and introduction, wanting to get right to the heart of the matter. For some reason, I didn’t follow my normal pattern with the book, “Pacific Northwest Foraging” by Douglas Deur. And am I glad! The preface and introduction to this book deftly paint a unique and important picture of the possibilities in the landscape of our beloved Pacific Northwest. They are the heart of the matter: full of biological and cultural information, history, and personal experience. More importantly, they are full of heart–not only because of the obvious passion of the author, but because they provoke our memory of an ancient and meaningful relationship with our place. For our world to survive, I believe it is imperative that we reestablish this kind of relationship and this book magnificently shows us one way we can do that. The rest of the book is a well organized description of 120 wild edibles which includes information on: identification; when, where and how to gather; how to eat; future harvests and warnings. Plus there are beautiful color photos (some from locals Susan Glarum and Faith Deur, as well as the author) to aid in identification. I was particularly struck by the future harvest category because it gives specific information on how to help maintain the plants so they don’t become additional victims of human overuse. There is a clear sense of honoring the plants and the earth that is often left out of most plant guides. This book IS a tasty find that nourishes our bodies and souls.
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