Synopsis:

Raised in a family of loggers committed to sensible forest stewardship, Simard has watched as timber companies leave forests at higher risk for wildfires, water crises, and plant and animal extinction. But her research has the potential to chart a new course. The forest, she reveals, is a symphony of finely honed cycles of regeneration—from mushrooms breaking down logs to dying elder trees passing their genetic knowledge to younger ones—that hold the key to protecting our forests. Working closely with local Indigenous communities, whose models of responsible forestry have been largely dismissed, Simard examines how human interventions—particularly destruction of the overstory’s mother trees—endanger new growth and longevity. If we can honor the tools that trees have honed for sharing intergenerational wisdom, she argues, we can protect these sacred places for many years to come.

As she considers how older living things facilitate the conditions for new growth to flourish, Simard faces parallel rhythms of loss and regeneration in her own life, watching her two daughters grow into adults and savoring her final days with her ailing mother. Animated by wonder for our forests and the intricate practices of caretaking that have long sustained them, When the Forest Breathes is a vital reminder of all the natural world has to teach us about adaptability, resilience, and community.

Genre: Nature Non-Fiction
Publisher: Knopf/Allen Lane
Pub Date: 31 March 2026

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I received this book as an eARC through NetGalley.

Review:

Suzanne Simard previously introduced the world to the intelligence and interconnectedness of trees. Through her research, she has shown the world that these beings communicate, completely changing our understanding of nature.

In this, her second book, Simard turns now to renewal. Our forests are under threat worldwide, and especially in her homeland of Canada. Timber companies are clearing enormous swathes of trees for profit, leaving the forests at risk of fires and wildlife extinction.

Working alongside groups of First Nations people, Simard and her team discover incredible processes of regeneration, and how elder trees care for the saplings that grow from and around them.

The Native groups share their knowledge of the forests with her, and the pain and suffering the loss of these environments causes. They know how to farm the timber sustainably, but the wider world refuses to listen, for it is not profitable. This is the battle that Simard is fighting alongside her research.

She also tells us a more personal story, that of being a daughter and a mother, and she shares her personal journey with grief through the pages. In a parallel to the story of the forests, her own story also sees renewal, and it adds a beautiful depth to the otherwise scientific writing.

I highly recommend this, even if you haven’t read Simard’s first book. It is compelling, urgent and wonderfully written, and you will find yourself wanting to stand up and fight to save our trees.