Trees Helped Tell her story

Tree Trek is a nature journey through the trees from Holy Cow! Press. The memoir tells the story of navigating the loss of my father through the help of a particular group of trees in my hometown's city park. Tree Trek is an actual event that my father initiated after he retired,  guiding visitors wishing to learn more about various tree species in the park. An artist by career, I had enjoyed a lifetime of engaging with nature but lacked the deeper scientific knowledge of botany that began to pull me a few years before my dad died in 2019, and which inspired me to train as a MN Master Naturalist in 2020 to begin leading tree treks of my own in that same park. My memoir is a tender, multi-faceted narrative structured around both the science and the emotional journey involved in the projects I undertook. 

Each chapter is titled with a tree genus in which I weave my personal story of loss with science and observations on the vital importance of nature in our lives—bringing the personal into the universal, whether it's healing, guidance or just finding a sense of comforting calm. Readers come along with me as I describe the joy of following in my father's footsteps while at the same time gaining an increased knowledge of trees.

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 "It is a rare pleasure to go for a walk among the trees with someone who clearly knows and loves them as much as I do. There is a wealth of scientific and botanical knowledge here (Linnaeus would be proud!) but much more than that, we find also a true depth of feeling and understanding. 'Each tree,' writes Stephanie Mirocha, 'is a world unto itself.' And so it is. But there is a dimension--a near mystical connection, perhaps--where the world of the tree touches and reflects the inner world of the human being. Someone who is hurting, perhaps. In need of guidance. Of comfort or inspiration. It is of that world--that connection--that Stephanie writes so beautifully. She says that in getting to know the trees, she has also found herself. I suspect that may be the case for any reader who treks among the trees with her."

--Douglas Wood, author of Old Turtle, Deep Woods, Wild Waters, and A Wild Path 

"Tree Trek is an intensely personal story of one woman’s exploration of trees and family grief. Tapping into a lifetime of experience with nature, Ms. Mirocha successfully blends scientific knowledge with personal discovery. Through her narrative the healing power of trees is revealed. We learn that trees are good listeners, but they don’t say much. Using an engaging writing style, Ms. Mirocha speaks for the trees and for all of us who have dealt with grief."

—Welby Smith, author of Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota

"For all of us who long to be reminded of the power of nature to heal, Stephanie Mirocha’s poignant memoir is a welcome blessing. More than simply a soothing walk in a park, more than an affectionate, enlightening meditation on the nature and character of Earth’s most enduring plants, more than a master naturalist’s journey through grief, Tree Trek is a touching, tender testament to the everlasting love between a father and daughter. I heartily recommend this beautiful book to all of us who seek to be moved by an inspiring story of familial love and to all of us who seek restoration in nature."

—Andrea Gilats, author of After Effects: A Memoir of Complicated Grief  and Radical Endurance: Growing Old in an Age of Longevity