The best books of women’s true stories

Ellen Dee Davidson Author Of Wild Path to the Sacred Heart
By Ellen Dee Davidson

Who am I?

As a woman, I am passionate about valuing the voices of women equally with those of men. When we listen to each other, we will be able to come into a better balance that will help us restore ourselves and our Earth. We need the visions of women to help guide us through these challenging times! I’m also passionate about the wild beauty of nature, especially trees, and spend lots of time hiking and meditating in the ancient redwood forests near my home. This has helped me heal and expanded my perception. In a way, being in the forest has brought me home to myself. 

I wrote...

Wild Path to the Sacred Heart

By Ellen Dee Davidson

Book cover of Wild Path to the Sacred Heart

What is my book about?

When author, Ellen Dee Davidson, finds herself with unusual free time, and a Lama in the Tibetan tradition suggests she “follow the juice,” Ellen realizes that her heart’s desire is to go to the ancient redwood forest near her home and hike and meditate with the old trees nearly every day. Over the course of 9 years of averaging 3 days a week, mostly alone, in the forest, Ellen has all sorts of wild experiences, encountering mountain lions, rutting elk, bears, and having mystical experiences as she slowly discovers the profound healing effects the forest is having upon her. Written in a style of magic realism, the latest science about forest bathing is woven into the mystery of her delightful experiences in the magical realm of a forest. 

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

The Books I Picked & Why

The Puma Years: A Memoir

By Laura Coleman

Book cover of The Puma Years: A Memoir

Why this book?

After running into 5 mountain lions while hiking alone in the ancient redwood forests near my home, I was really blown away reading The Puma Years about Laura Coleman's relationships with the big cats. I cannot imagine getting as close to one of them as she does in her memoir about spending time in the middle of the jungle in Bolivia taking care of wild pumas. Set against a background of logging destruction of habitat and illegal wild animal poaching, the author valiantly tries to rehabilitate damaged pumas. The relationships she and her volunteer colleagues have with the big cats are astonishing. They take them out for walks! The author is so candid about how broken she feels in our environmentally and often socially broken world, and yet in the end still manages to leave me with hope and belief in the human spirit.

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

To Speak for the Trees: My Life's Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest

By Diana Beresford-Kroeger

Book cover of To Speak for the Trees: My Life's Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest

Why this book?

To Speak for the Trees is one of my favorite books ever, partly because I love trees, and partly because of my own Celtic heritage from my maternal line. Diana Beresord-Kroeger, a scientist in biochemistry and botany, begins with her childhood in Ireland. After losing her parents at a young age, she is raised in the ancient Celtic nature wisdom and Druid beliefs by an entire community, and literally taught the language of trees: Ogham. Blending scientific discoveries about trees and the importance of forests to our species' survival, this book is a fast and delightful read that I won’t forget. I feel enriched from having been blessed to spend time with such a brilliant woman through the pages of her book. 

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

Braiding Sweetgrass

By Robin Wall Kimmerer

Book cover of Braiding Sweetgrass

Why this book?

Braiding Sweetgrass weaves together indigenous wisdom about our times, the botanist author’s vast knowledge of plants along with her personal life stories. At one point, the author shares that indigenous teachings say we are at a time of choice, where there are two paths, one to death and destruction and another grassy and green. Although we are in such fraught times, Robin offers ways to restore our world that left me feeling hopeful. I also appreciated her struggles as an indigenous woman becoming a scientist, dealing with both sexism and two very different world views. Somehow, in this book, Robin manages to braid these different strands of reality together in a way that is profoundly nourishing. I recommend this as one of the best environmental books ever.  

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

By Suzanne Simard

Book cover of Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest

Why this book?

This book expanded my understanding of the intelligence of nature, especially trees. Suzanne is a scientist and forester who pioneered research into the underground fungal network of communication between trees in a forest. Through a system of chemical messages, Suzanne discovered that trees are able to request and offer nutrients to each other as needed! After reading Finding the Mother Tree, I will never look at trees or nature the same way. Now I know that trees are intelligent and conscious beings with the ability to cooperate for survival. Along with her astounding scientific discoveries, the book is spiced with details from the author’s personal life: her struggles to be taken seriously as a woman in forestry, the loss of her brother, raising daughters, divorce, and breast cancer. 

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

If Women Rose Rooted: A Life-Changing Journey to Authenticity and Belonging

By Sharon Blackie

Book cover of If Women Rose Rooted: A Life-Changing Journey to Authenticity and Belonging

Why this book?

An unforgettable book about the power of women restoring themselves and each other and how that will also help us restore the Earth. Full of mythology, If Women Rose Rooted is about women seeking our roots and rootedness. While seeking a place to live, the author is also searching for the true place within herself. Blending memoir, the land, and folk stories, this book can help women everywhere come home to themselves. 

When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.

Closely Related Book Lists

The best books to whisk you away to magical lands you never knew you wanted to visit

Jasbinder Bilan Author Of Asha and the Spirit Bird Jasbinder Bilan

The best books about emotional conflict and post-war survival within a splintered psyche

F. Scott Service Author Of Playing Soldier F. Scott Service

The best books to become a self-starter

Jeff Davidson Author Of 60 Second Self-Starter: Sixty Solid Techniques to get motivated, get organized, and get going in the workplace. Jeff Davidson

The best books with aliens that are not science fiction

Cat Jordan Author Of Eight Days on Planet Earth Cat Jordan

Distantly Related Book Lists

The best books for inventors with big ideas

Stephen Key Author Of One Simple Idea: Turn Your Dreams Into a Licensing Goldmine While Letting Others Do the Work Stephen Key

The best books for stress relief

Carol Krucoff Author Of Yoga Sparks: 108 Easy Practices for Stress Relief in a Minute or Less Carol Krucoff

The best books that tell a cautionary tale about world-changing technology

Evan I. Schwartz Author Of The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit, and the Birth of Television Evan I. Schwartz

The best books on the environment and the crisis we face

Ozzie Zehner Author Of Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism Ozzie Zehner